Stuck With You
by Wendy McCalister
Summary: AU, Kurama Minamino and Botan Fukuyama are sworn enemies. What happens when one day, they are handcuffed together and they don't have the key? Will they be able to put aside their differences and form a friendship... or something more?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.**

 **Stuck With You**

 **Summary: AU, Kurama Minamino and Botan Fukuyama are sworn enemies. What happens when one day, they are handcuffed together and** **they don't have the key? Will they be able to put aside their differences and form a friendship... or something more?**

 **Chapter 1**

"This is out of line."

"I will not accept this."

Both Kurama and Botan said at the same time.

Realizing they spoke simultaneously, they cast a glare at one another, before turning to look at the principal. The woman with brown hair narrowed her hazel eyes at the the duo.

"No. _You_ two are the ones who went out of line," she retorted dryly, causing Botan to scowl and Kurama to heave a sigh.

"But, isn't _this_ ," Kurama started, trying to sound as composed as possible as he raised his and Botan's joined wrists which was by the way, handcuffed together, "way over the top?"

"Yeah. I mean, you don't have to do this," Botan added, pulling the cutest puppy eyes she could manage. She ignored the weird look she received from Kurama in return.

"Well," the principal started, clasping her hands together, "if I _don't_ do this, then you two will never learn your lesson."

Botan's puppy look felled, replaced with one of annoyance. "What lesson is there to be learned?" she asked in exasperation.

The principal's eye visibly twitched. "I don't even want to answer that, Fukuyama-san," she spoke tartly.

Then, she reached for a drawer at her desk, pulled out a gold key and showed it to them. Emerald and amethyst eyes widened as Botan and Kurama realized what it was.

"Isn't that..."

Botan was cut off. "Yes, it's the key to the handcuffs. If you want it, I can give it to you," the principal said, before opening the drawer again and placed the key safely back inside. "On one condition," and she raised one finger, "you guys need to start getting along with each other."

" _What?_ " Botan literally screeched. "G-get along?"

Kurama made a face, slightly annoyed by her previous yell that he could've sworn almost damaged his eardrums. "Will you _please_ restrain yourself from screaming?" Kurama asked politely, and resisted the urge to lash out at her.

Botan was quiet for quite a while, as if in thought. Then, she turned to look at Kurama with a frown on her forehead.

"This is your fault," she accused rudely. She could hear the sound of the principal sighing exasperatedly but didn't acknowledge it.

" _My_ fault?" Kurama repeated incredulously, his face now matching hers. He was torn between laughing at her stupidity and choking her to death right then and there. He probably would've done both, if it wasn't for the head teacher being in front of them.

"For your information," he started, leaning in until he was eye to eye with the girl, "this is _your_ fault."

"Fuck you," Botan muttered under her breath.

Kurama gave a mocking grin. "Thank you," he retorted, to which Botan scowled deeply.

Okay, so you're probably wondering what's going on, so let's just rewind shall we?

. . .

You see, Kurama Minamino and Botan Fukuyama have been sworn enemies ever since highschool started. Neither knew how it all began, but both was sure of one thing: They didn't like each other. To be honest, the whole rivalry probably started over something ludicrous, like Kurama getting annoyed with Botan's constant ramblings or Botan being ticked off over something he said. Neither of them really cared though, and just went on hating each other like usual. There was just something about one another that just sort of ignite a raging fire inside them whenever they laid eyes on each other. Maybe it was Kurama's over self confidence, and Botan's humbleness. Maybe it was because Kurama was a thinker and she was a talker. Either way, they were just too different, like fire and water, and cats and dogs, that it almost seemed like they were destined to be that way.

Of course, what's with them being rivals and all, they'd been throwing pranks on each other for as long as they could remember. And even if they weren't, they'd be throwing insults at one another like their pride depended on it (and frankly, sometimes it did). Their constant arguing was always the center of attention for a lot of teachers, but none of the adults had ever taken any drastic measures to 'discipline' them; because Kurama was a child prodigy, and Botan was athletic and active at school.

That is, until a prank involving the cafeteria lady and nearly half the student body taken into a hospital. They blamed each other of course, and went on another mouth-war over whose fault it was. It was then that the principal came barging in the cafeteria, sporting a look of dismay. Both were sent to the principal's office soon after, where they were suddenly cuffed together... which leads to our current predicament...

. . .

"But how are we going to live if we're like this?" Botan inquired, raised her eyebrow quizically and silently prayed that after her question the principal would rethink the whole thing.

Instead, the brown haired woman gave her a deadpanned look.

"Isn't that obvious? You're going to live together," she stated matter of factly, as if it didn't sound even the least bit odd.

Botan's eyes widened in surprise that the principal hadn't gave the reaction she wanted and that she'd said such a thing. She pondered for a moment if she was hearing things right.

The shock died down soon after, and Botan gulped down a lump.

"You mean... as in, under the same roof?" she asked slowly, earned a nod in return and paled at the thought. Her living with Kurama? She'd rather die and go to hell!

"With all due respect, principal, I think the entire idea of us being handcuffed and living together is preposterous," Kurama chimed in, his voice calm as he kept a look of composure on his face. But if someone looked closely they could see his eyebrow twitching, implying that the idea didn't appeal to him either.

"Well, I'm afraid you just have to deal with it," the principal dimissed them with a wave, "I'm certainly not going to change my mind."

"Do we _have_ to go through this?" Botan's slightly annoyed voice came.

She couldn't help but feel like pulling her hair out of their roots. She flung her arms in frustration, therefore, lifting Kurama's left hand as she did so.

Kurama roughly pulled her hand back down. He received a heated stare from the girl, to which he matched his expression with hers.

"Will you not do that? It's annoying," Kurama said harshly.

"I can do whatever I want, asshole," Botan shot back, her eyes threatening to burn a hole in Kurama's head.

The boy rolled his eyes, but didn't say anything. There were a lot of things going on in his mind, and most of them were thoughts of ways to kill Botan or the various name calls he wanted to give her. But he restrained himself from opening his mouth, lest he'd find himself in a more troublesome predicament.

"So where are we going to live?" Botan asked after she calmed down a little. "I mean, I can't go to my place and he can't go to his, considering our wrists are stuck to each other," she said the last few words indignantly, waving their cuffed hands around.

Kurama winced when the girl waved hard enough to hurt his wrist. He cast her a glare that went unnoticed by Botan as she was too busy looking at the principal like she had two heads.

He almost wanted to choke her.

"Work something out," the principal answered simply. She reached a hand for a paper on her desk, and scrutinized the words written on it.

Botan's mouth formed a frown at her obvious lack of interest in the current subject.

"You've got to be kidding me," she mumbled grudgingly, her voice almost inaudible but the other female in the room heard it quite clearly.

The principal heaved a sigh. "Look, why don't you guys just decide between yourselves where you'll live. It can be at yours or Kurama's, I don't particularly care."

"My mom would be worried," Botan suddenly exclaimed in concern, searching for excuses to get out of the situation.

"I've already told your parents about this before I told you to come to my office. They understood completely and agreed willingly."

Botan scowled at her words, already feeling as if her last ray of hope was fading away rapidly.

"But, I'm a girl and he's a boy."

"Kurama's a perfect gentleman, and besides, I don't think he'll take advantage of you or anything since he rolls his eyes every now and then whenever you talk, Fukuyama-san."

The girl blinked. "What?" came her stupid response.

She then turned to look at Kurama, who had a small smirk attached to his face. She narrowed her eyes at him, before averting her gaze back to the principal.

"So is that it? There's no room for negotiation?" Botan questioned curtly, despite the underlying hopeful tone in her voice.

"No," the principal replied firmly. She lifted her head to give her a stern look. "And I mean it."

Botan remained silent for a few moments, before breaking off the silence with a defeated sigh.

"Fine," she grumbled.

"I suppose that's all?" the principal inquired with a quirked eyebrow when the two teens stopped talking.

A moment of silence passed, before it was broken by Kurama. "To be honest, I'm quite disappointed," He made an unreadable face as he said this.

"Because?" the principal prodded.

"Because I thought you were a wise and reasonable woman. I didn't think you would do something as foolish and childish such as this," He raised his and Botan's cuffed hands for emphasize and narrowed his eyes dangerously. "Clearly, I overestimated you."

"Obviously," the principal retorted simply and watched as Kurama stood up from the chair, prompting a dumbfounded Botan to do the same.

As Kurama's hand reached the doorknob and turned, the principal's voice sounded throughout the office.

"And clearly, I overestimated _you_ as well."

He whipped his head around to look at her, and hazel eyes narrowed his way.

"I thought you were an observant young man, I didn't think you wouldn't notice how fed up I am with you two."

There was a moment of silence and they stood there staring each other. Botan stared back and forth between the two, confused as to what she should say.

The silence was finally broken moments after as a click sounded, the door opened and Kurama led (more like, dragged) Botan out of the office.

He slid his right hand into the soft safety of his pockets. Despite wanting to put both hands in them, his other hand was unfortunately currently 'preoccupied'.

"I was surprised when you said that to the-"

Botan's voice, which was in awe, was immediately cut short.

"Don't get all friendly with me," Kurama interrupted rudely, his voice harsh as he shot her a death glare.

The look of amazement that had been on Botan's face was immediately wiped off, replaced by one full of a mixture of bewilderment and what seemed like offended.

"Well, excuse _me-"_

Again, she was cut off by Kurama who didn't have any intention in listening to her and pulled her along with him as they started walking a certain direction.

She protested, but to no avail. Kurama was stronger than her, thus she didn't have a choice but to follow suit. A sigh escaped her, as she rolled her eyes in annoyance.

Well, this is going to be a _loooong_ day."


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.**

 **Stuck With You**

 **Summary: AU, Kurama Minamino and Botan Fukuyama are sworn enemies. What happens when one day, they are handcuffed together and they don't have the key? Will they be able to put aside their differences and form a friendship... or something more?**

 **Chapter 2**

"So, what are we gonna do?" Botan asked and walked along Kurama as they sauntered to the school gates in the midst of hundreds of other students.

After school ended, they went straight out of class, ignoring the weird looks they got from students that passed by. It had only been half the day and Botan already felt like pulling out a rope to hang herself. Kurama, on the other hand, was bordering on losing his insanity with the questions she kept bombarded him with.

Kurama rolled his eyes in slight irritation.

"Well," he started, without even turning to look at her, "I suggest we stay at my house for awhile."

Botan's brows furrowed. "Why?"

The redhead expelled a sigh, one that sounded as if he was tired of answering her inquiries. " _Because_ ," he staŕted, but Botan could've sworn she heard him growl also. He closed his eyes, opened them again and sent her a glare, "I don't want to deal with your family if we start living with them."

A pause. "Besides, my house is basically better than yours," he finished dryly.

The girl gawked at him. Why, the nerve of the guy!

She fixed a heated stare on him, threatening to burn a hole in his head. She inwardly wished if looks could kill... Kurama would find himself losing his pretty face. At the thought of Kurama crying hysterically, Botan nearly let out a laugh.

"Well, _excuse you_. Are you insulting me _and_ my family?" she asked indignantly, stopped in front of him to block his way and glared into his emerald eyes. "Answer the question," she went on, narrowing her eyes in warning.

Kurama blinked, the expression on his face blank as he stared back down at the girl. There was a long pause, as if he was thinking of something to say. Seeing him silent, Botan almost thought he felt guilty.

"Forgive me," he said after what seemed like forever.

Amethyst eyes widened in half surprise and half bewilderment. She did _not_ expect this. She pondered for a moment if there was a good side in the redhead; maybe he wasn't really the spawn of satan (okay, maybe that was a little exaggerated over there). She didn't think he would apologize to her, his enemy, of all people.

A smile began to form on her face...

"Oh, wait. I meant, I'm sorry to your family. Not you," Kurama added meanly all of a sudden, an arrogant smirk at the corners of his mouth. "Did you get confused that I was also referring to you?"

Botan's smile felled as quickly as it came.

Scratch that about him having a good side. The guy couldn't possibly have one! He _was_ the spawn of satan.

Kurama lightly pushed her, dismissed her with a wave like 'shoo shoo!' and started to continue in his tracks to the school gates, dragging a reluctant and annoyed Botan behind him. They exited the school, Kurama sauntering almost too swiftly for Botan's taste.

"I hate you," she mumbled under her breath.

"Good." Kurama rolled his eyes for the umpteenth time that day. "I hate you too."

* * *

After what seemed like ages of Botan complaining about wanting to be at _her_ house, and Kurama defending his point of view that his was apparently better, the duo finally reached the redhead's apartment, despite Botan's constant protests.

"Make yourself at home, I guess," the boy said lazily as he locked the door, ignoring Botan who was looking around his house with her mouth wide agape in awe.

He took off his shoes, and made to enter the hallway. He was stopped dead in his tracks however, as something pulled at his left hand, preventing him from walking. Knowing it was Botan probably sulking at the floor, Kurama heaved an exasperated sigh. He took a moment to count to ten, something he did a lot when he needed to calm himself down. He resisted the urge to yell at the girl, and went to look down at her... only to blink when he realized she was arranging their shoes in a neat way.

"Uh... what are you doing...?" Kurama questioned slowly, a frown marring his features as the girl stood up and dusted off her skirt.

"Huh?" came Botan's stupid response, as if she didn't hear him the first time. She blinked at the crease on Kurama's forehead, before shrugging off her shoulders. "It's kinda a habit, I guess. My mom used to yell at me a lot when I didn't arrange them properly, she said something about keeping things tidy... Oh whatever. Anyways, so I always do this sort of thing at home. Sometimes, it's just on instincts, you know? Like I'm used to it already."

She paused, her eyebrows furrowing as she realized she was talking too much.

"Uh, anyway, that doesn't matter," she quickly added in a nonchalant way. She stared at Kurama nodded slowly, a thoughtful look passing his features, as if he was taking in all the information.

She decided to snap him out of his thoughts. "So, I guess we're gonna have to create some rules here, huh?" she inquired, raising an eyebrow his way.

Kurama blinked stupidly at her for a moment, taken off guard by her interrupting his chain of thoughts.

"Right," he finally agreed.

"Okay." Botan placed her left hand at her hip, resisting the urge to put her cuffed one there too, lest she'd find herself lying in a coffin sooner than she'd wished. "So, the first rule is that there's no peeking while we bath."

Kurama made a weird look, before sauntering over towards his red sofa, to which Botan followed suit. He sat down, and considering their hands were handcuffed together and she was tired of standing, Botan had no choice but to follow his actions, flopping down the sofa.

"As if I would want to see your naked body," he suddenly said and pulled a disgusted scowl at the thought.

"Agreed," Botan responded grudgingly, slightly offended. "As if I would want to see yours either. I mean, like, it'll probably be my worst nightmare if I did. Like I'd probably feel like I was watching Freddy Krueger taking a bath," she said dramatically, placed her uncuffed hand on her chest and let a horrified gasp escape her.

She burst into a fit of laughter at the heated stare Kurama casted her way.

"Ha-ha," came Kurama's sarcastic reply. " _Very_ funny."

"Hilarious," Botan 'corrected' with a mocking grin, causing Kurama's eyebrow to twitch in annoyance.

"Right. And watching you would probably be like watching Frakenstein's wife. Like, do you have _anything_ special under there?" Kurama asked, quirking an eyebrow at her as he stared up and down her body suggestively and causing Botan's jaws to fall at his words.

He pretended to scrutinize her, before a smirk slowly found its way to his face. "I doubt it."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Kill yourself, Minamino," she grumbled under her breath.

"If you go first, then I'll gladly follow suit," he replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he smiled a fake smile.

Botan made a sound that sounded suspiciously like a groan as she flung her arms up in the air in frustration. She made to make a smart remark, but decided against it.

"So, what about the second rule?" Botan questioned, her voice very calm, considering the mounting annoyance slowly creeping up her skin.

"Well," Kurama started, and put a finger under his chin as he tilted his head slightly. He thought about it for a while, until, "No messing up my room," he finished in a firm voice, casting her a brief warning glance.

"Yeah, sure. Whatever." Botan rolled her eyes. "What's next? No drawing on your face with markers when you sleep?" she continued sarcastically, giving him an equally sarcastic look.

"Oh, you think you're so funny," he shot back with another glare. He seemed to be doing that a lot whenever he was around her.

"What about crayons?" she went on, purposely trying to annoy him even more.

"Shut up."

Botan bit her lip at the frustration in the redhead's voice, a laugh nearly escaping her as she watched the usually composed expression on his face turned into one that made him seem like he wanted to kill everyone that dared to look his way.

"Alright, fine," she said, and as soon as she spoke, a giggle found its way out of her lips.

Kurama shot a death glare at her, and she swiftly placed a hand on her mouth, silencing herself. She smiled against her palm, implying that she still thought it was funny.

"Rule number 3, when we sleep, there's gotta be something blocking our bodies. Like, a wall that blocks me from you. Something like, the left side is your side and the right is mine," Kurama said curtly, successfully ignoring her occasional giggles that came here and there.

"We could use a pillow," Botan suggested helpfully as soon as she collected herself.

Kurama raised an eyebrow quizically. "As in, a body pillow?"

"I dunno," she replied nonchalantly, shrugging her shoulders.

"Right, we'll use a body pillow. I think I have one in my closet, so we're good," Kurama said, despite her answer.

She made a weird face. "You keep a body pillow in your closet? Why not just use it since you apparently have one?" she asked incredulously. "Like, what are you keeping it in the closet for? For a memento or something?"

She earned a glare from the redhead in return.

"I swear, if you speak to me like that again, then I'll choke you," he told her, his voice dangerously calm.

Botan, already quite used to his threats, considering their long-term rivalry, merely shrugged her shoulders and mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like "yeah, whatever" under her breath.

"Why don't we just sleep separately though?" Botan questioned with an arched eyebrow.

"What do you suggest? You sleep on the floor while I sleep on the bed?" Kurama retorted with a deadpanned look.

She pursed her lips at the idea, thinking it over for a moment. "No," she started, "More like _you_ sleep on the floor and _I_ sleep on the bed," she suggested instead, pointing a finger at herself and Kurama back and forth for emphasis. She received a frown from Kurama in return.

"Why should I? This is my house, in case you're forgotten," he shot back.

"But, I'm a girl!" she cried out, flailing her left arm in the air. "I can't sleep on the floor!"

He rolled his eyes, before realizing there was no need for them to have this conversation. "Whatever, doesn't matter. We're sleeping on the bed anyway."

Botan let out a frustrated groan. "But, _why?_ "

"Because, we have these things," he raised their cuffed hands to emphasize his point, "around our wrist now. And in case you haven't noticed, the chain on the handcuffs isn't long, which is the antonym for short, just in case you don't know yet," and he started to shake their joined wrists dangerously close to Botan's face, which was by the way sporting an annoyed look on it, "Thus, sleeping separately on the floor or the bed is out of the question."

"Sure. Okay." Botan paused. "Except, you didn't have to wave our hands like this in front of my face just now!" She started to indignantly roar, waving their joined wrists close to Kurama's for emphasis.

The redhead merely shrugged his shoulders, slapping her hand away when she nearly hit him with it.

She stopped waving around, and was silent for a moment. A thought occured in her mind and her eyes slowly widened in horror.

"You're not going to do anything when we sleep, are you?" she asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously his way.

Kurama heaved an exasperated sigh and resisted the urge to slap a hand to his face. "As if I would!" he shot back, shooting a glare once again at her direction.

Botan frowned at his words, her mouth forming a scowl. "No, jerk. I mean, like, you won't kill me in my sleep, right?"

He paused, as if thinking it over. Then, the corners of his mouth slowly curved upwards into a smirk.

"Pray that I don't."

She visibly paled.

Kurama, noticing the loss of color on her face, held back a laugh. "I was joking, idiot," he told her, his smirk widening slightly. He then reached a hand out to retrieve a book on the table in front of them. "You're hardly worth it to dirty my hands and go to prison over," he added, to which Botan gave him a death glare that didn't went unnoticed by Kurama, but clearly was not acknowledged by the redhead either.

"Douchebag," she retorted with a huff.

"Whatever," came his nonchalant reply.

Ignoring her constant glares, Kurama proceeded to open the book in his hands. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to read my book. Quietly," he said the last word sternly, silently warning her to be silent.

Botan rolled her eyes, and grumbled something under her breath. Kurama didn't acknowledge her, and merely fixed his gaze on the words written in the book.

Moments of silence passed by between them. The only sound that could be heard was the fan spinning, and the sound that came when Kurama turned another page. After what seemed like forever, Botan broke off the silence as a thought occured in her mind.

"You know, I think what happened just now was the longest conversation we've ever had."

Kurama swiftly threw a pillow that was on the sofa at her face, in an attempt to shut her up.


	3. Chapter 3

**DIsclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.**

 **Stuck With You**

 **Summary: AU, Kurama Minamino and Botan Fukuyama are sworn enemies. What happens when one day, they are handcuffed together and they don't have the key? Will they be able to push aside their differences and form a friendship... or something more?**

 **Chapter 3**

"You know, usually, people bath when they get home from work or school. They don't just go up and read a book," Botan suddenly spoke. She turned to look at Kurama, expecting some sort of reaction. Instead, she earned nothing and the redhead merely went on ignoring her.

The girl sighed. Getting bored of talking to herself for the past hour, Botan focused on her surroundings, looking around the house. A frown found its way to her forehead as she realized something.

"Where are your parents, Kurama?" she asked, despite knowing better, her curiosity getting the better of her.

The boy in question then regarded her with a quirked eyebrow. That was the first acknowledgement he gave her ever since he started reading his book, and Botan was more than glad that she wasn't speaking to a wall anymore.

"They live overseas," he simply answered, and averted his attention back to his book.

"Why?" Botan prodded, wanting to know more.

"You really do have a tendency to ask a lot of questions, don't you?" Kurama inquired instead, and didn't take his eyes of his book. He was telling her something he'd told her hundreds of times before, but his voice lacked the annoyance he'd usually had.

She parted her mouth to retort, but was immediately cut off.

"My step-father works overseas, and my mother got married with him a year ago. It was then that she decided that she wanted to stay with him, and asked me to go with her. But as you can see, I declined," came his explanation.

"Oh." A pause. "Why didn't you want to live overseas? I mean, if I were you, I would've. It'd be really cool," Botan said in wonder.

She didn't get a response, but merely received a shrug of his shoulders in return. Deciding that maybe Kurama's had enough of talking to her, Botan averted her gaze to the wall. She stared at it for a while, pondering something in her head. Then, after what seemed like forever, she finally said,

"I wanna take a bath."

And she fixed her gaze back on the redhead, asking for a silent permission. His eyes trailed from the book to her face, an unreadable look now plastered on his features.

A moment of silence passed, only to be broken by Kurama,

"Later," he told her dryly, before diverting his attention back to his book. He didn't manage to read the next sentence of where he left off, as a hand suddenly tugged at the sleeve of his uniform.

Heaving a sigh, Kurama turned to look at the owner with an irritated expression.

"What?"

The girl pouted. " _Please?_ " she practically begged. "I mean, I feel so sweaty and I don't like feeling sweaty!"

He rolled his eyes. "Well, I guess you're going to have to deal with it for awhile, because I am not getting off this book."

"But, Kurama!"

"Beg all you want. I don't really care."

"Kurama!" Botan said again, and this time, she waved both her hands at him in an attempt to get him to agree.

An exasperated sigh left his lips, annoyed at the way his cuffed hand moved along with Botan's as the girl waved it. In spite of knowing it was a trick for him to grant her permission, Kurama decided to give up, already aware that Botan wasn't going to leave him alone if he didn't.

"Fine," he mumbled grudgingly, and promptly closed his book. An eyebrow twitched.

Botan ignored the twitching of Kurama's eyebrow, a victorious grin coming to rest on her lips.

"Yes!" she cheered and raised her arms in victory, forgetting that she was also raising Kurama's hand as she did so.

Her right hand was swiftly and harshly tug down by an irritated Kurama.

* * *

The bathroom door opened, and in popped Botan's head. She peeked inside, her jaws falling in awe as she took in the bathroom's appearance.

"Wow, Kurama! Your bathroom is really big. I think this is as big as my room," she said in amazement, a bright grin forming on her lips.

It felled as quickly as it came though, as a hand pushed her inside. She nearly tripped on the wet and cold floor, but managed to catch her balance before she managed to. She whipped her head around to fix a glare on Kurama who was sporting a bored expression on his face.

"What did you do that for?" she screeched.

He shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "Well, you weren't going inside, so I thought I might as well lend you a hand." A light smirk tugged at his lips as he said this, as if he was taunting her.

Botan's glare intensified. She wanted to wipe off that stupid arrogant smirk on Kurama's face. She stuck her tongue out at him, before turning to look away in a huff.

"Thank you very much," she sarcastically retorted.

"Your welcome," he said, the tone of his voice matching hers.

The girl felt her annoyance mounting, but decided against saying anything else, lest the situation spiralled out of control. It was still the first day, she didn't want to get into a big fight with the redhead already.

She merely let out a small sigh, and grabbed a towel that was hung on the bathroom's wall. It was probably Kurama's, but what the hell. She was willing to take on any risk by now.

Kurama arched one eyebrow at her. Usually she'd make a smart remark whenever he'd say something that would irritate her, but the blue-haired girl simply ignored him.

He inwardly brushed it off, deciding that he didn't really care.

"I'm borrowing this for awhile." Botan's voice reached his ears, snapping him out of his thoughts.

He turned to look at her and gave her a frown, as if silently saying 'No'. Botan, realizing what the look meant, raised an eyebrow quizzically at him.

"Unless you have some spare towel or something that I could use?" she offered.

The redhead was silent for a moment, racking his brain if he had one. Then, after nothing came, he shook his head.

"Well then, I guess I'm gonna have to use yours for now," Botan simply said, and shrugged her shoulders.

Kurama, realizing he had no choice but to let her, nodded his head in response, albeit reluctantly. He didn't really like sharing his things with people; even with his friends, much less Botan, his enemy, of all people.

"You can use a rag," he playfully said after a moment of silence.

He received a heated stare from the girl.

"Sure. Funny, stupid."

The redhead smirked, but didn't say anything. He watched as Botan's irritation somewhat died down, replaced by what he could assume as shyness. She fidgeted, and stared at her feet, a pink color tinting her cheeks.

"What is it?" Kurama found himself asking in curiosity.

Surely, the girl wasn't embarrassed, now was she? He told her before he didn't want to see her naked, so she didn't have anything to be worried about.

There was a long pause. "Um... can I borrow your clothes too?" Botan inquired timidly, drawing circles on her skirt with her index finger.

He blinked at her, before quirking an eyebrow. "Are you gonna borrow everything that belongs to me during your stay here?" he asked, despite already knowing she didn't bring her personal things along.

Botan scowled. "Well, _sorry_ ," she started in sarcasm, "You didn't really let me go back to my house to get my stuff, so I don't have a choice but to borrow everything, now do I?" she retorted.

She rolled her eyes, recalling that earlier the redhead had refused to go to her house, with the excuse that he didn't want to meet her family in this sort of state (what's with them being handcuffed together and all). The girl didn'r really understand why though, because the principal had explained the whole thing to her parents beforehand so there was nothing to be embarrassed about. She didn't have a choice but to agree however, as Kurama had started to drag her away.

Kurama heaved a sigh and raised his hand that wasn't cuffed in defeat. "Right. Sorry."

"... So can I?"

"Yeah. Whatever. Not like I have a spare of everything anyway."

"Thanks."

Neither said anything after that. Kurama stared at the wall beside him, while Botan fixed her gaze on the floor. They didn't know why, but they suddenly started feeling awkward around each other. Maybe it was because they had nothing to say, or maybe because they realized they were in the bathroom together and that Botan was about to take a bath with Kurama inside.

Blood immediately rushed to Botan's cheeks at the thought. Although she hated him, she couldn't deny that she was still embarrassed. After all, he was still a boy and she, a girl.

The uncomfortable silence was finally broken off by the girl as she cleared her throat, gaining Kurama's attention. He casted her a glance, noticing the red color on her cheeks, and realized that she really was embarrassed.

"You know I'm not going to peek or anything, right?" the redhead told her in assurance, before Botan managed to say anything.

"Yeah. But it's not that," she replied defensively.

He arched an eyebrow questioningly at her. "Then what is it?"

"... Nothing." Botan said after a pause, deciding that it was too embarrassing to tell him. She bit her lip, before lifting her gaze to timidly stare at him.

"But, if you don't mind, can you, um... turn away while I take off my clothes?" she asked slowly, and avoided his gaze as the words left her.

A pause. "Right," Kurama said, "Sorry, I almost forgot."

The redhead whipped around, and Botan heaved a sigh of relief. Although she knew Kurama was a gentleman and that he didn't like her enough to do anything, it couldn't hurt to be safe. She slowly started to unbutton her school vest, feeling slightly relaxed now that Kurama had his back facing her, and hummed a tune she heard somewhere.

Kurama, on the other hand, couldn't help but blush as he felt his hand moved here and there and his fingers brushed against the girl as she took off her clothes. Botan didn't seem to notice it though, as she was still humming that tune.

Although he hated her and said all those things about her, Kurama couldn't help but admit that he did find her attractive, and couldn't hold back the embarrassment that came rushing to his face. A few indecent thoughts somehow managed to conjure themselves in his head, and only served to make the red color on his cheeks turn into a darker shade.

He pushed all those thoughts away into the deepest part of his mind, hoping they'd never come back again.

Kurama felt Botan walking, and she dragged him along with him as she sauntered towards the bathtub, the towel now wrapped safely around her body, covering her private parts. The redhead was forced to walk backwards though, still trying not to look at her.

He heard a thud, signalling that Botan had entered the bathtub and bit his lip as another sound came, one that sounded like the curtains surrounding it sliding close.

The shower turned on, and he visibly tensed.

Realizing that he needed to calm down, Kurama took a few deep breaths, inhaling and exhaling them for a few times. He repeated the action over and over, until he decided he finally relaxed a bit.

He felt a tug, and could only assume that was Botan reaching for the soap. She used the cuffed hand to rub it around her body, and Kurama blushed as his fingers brushed against her smooth skin a few times. His thoughts started to spiral out of control, and he found himself losing his composure once again.

He tried to control himself. 'Damn hormones,' he thought grudgingly.

His hand brushed against her once again and he couldn't help but ponder if the girl was stupid enough not to notice. He cursed her inwardly for making him feel this way and for being naive as to not notice anything.

But then, all of a sudden, he felt her hand froze, as if she'd just realized what was happening. He felt another tug and wondered what the girl was doing.

. . .

Botan wanted to choke herself to death.

How could she not notice that Kurama's hand had been brushing up against her body all this time? Stupid! She cursed at herself, bordering on pulling her hair out of their roots.

She changed hands, placing the soap in her other hand that wasn't cuffed. Stupid her for not noticing that either.

She started to rub the soap all over her body again, resuming at where she left off. All the while, she pondered if she could get used to this: showering with Kurama in the bathroom.

Probably not.

. . .

Minutes passed, and Kurama began to feel bored.

"Are you done yet?" he asked impatiently. He noted to himself that it _was_ true that girls take forever to take a shower. He also noted that he'd been staring at the floor for awhile now. Not to mention, his legs was starting to hurt from standing for a long time, but he didn't want to sit on the wet floor either, not wanting to dirty his uniform.

"Almost," came Botan's answer.

He heaved a sigh. That was the third time she told him that.

"What's taking you so long anyway?" Kurama inquired again, tapping his foot against the floor impatiently.

"Oh, will you be patient?" she shot back in annoyance.

"I am trying to be patient!" he replied defensively. "But even my patience has a limit."

He heard an exasperated groan.

"Alright, fine! I'll hurry up."

Kurama let out a sigh of relief. "Good."

A few moments passed by, before the sound of running water slowly faded, implying that Botan was turning off the shower. A grin instantly found its way to his lips at this, and he felt his hand moved around here and there as he assumed it was Botan wrapping the towel around her body.

"Um... you don't happen to have spare clothes in the bathroom, do you?" Botan asked stupidly, an awkward laugh escaping her.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't manage to grab them before we entered the bathroom," came his sarcastic response. He rolled his eyes, annoyed at her for taking too long in the shower and for asking a dumb question, and at himself for forgetting such a thing.

Silence.

"... Then, I guess I'm gonna have to go out like this," he heard Botan mumble, her voice almost inaudible that he had to strain his ears to hear her.

The curtains then opened, and Kurama turned to glare at her... only to regret doing so as he realized the girl had only a towel to cover her body, and that it was clinging tightly around her, revealing her perfect curves.

His eyes widened, and a blush immediately found its way to his face. "W-what are you doing, you idiot!" he stammered, before swiftly looking away.

An image of her almost naked body crossed his mind, and the blush deepened.

"Well, not like I have a choice," Botan retorted defensively. She huffed, her face turning red in half anger and half embarrassment.

"Still, do you not have a shred of decency?" Kurama shot back, despite knowing fully well that she was forced to. He wasn't sure why, but his embarrassment got the better of him, causing him to say stupid things.

"Oh, shut up, Kurama!" Botan cried out indignantly.

He felt his hand rising up as the girl raised her arms exasperatedly, but was too caught up in his embarrassment to tug it down harshly as he usually would.

"Why are you acting like this? Are you embarrassed? I thought you said you wouldn't feel anything even if you saw me naked?" she found herself asking furiously before she managed to stop herself. Her eyes widened as she realized what she said, and she slapped a hand against her mouth.

Being too 'preoccupied' with the situation, Botan failed to notice the towel sliding off her body.

Kurama, too prideful to admit that he was embarrassed, unconsciously whipped his head around and parted his lips to deny it... only to stop himself from saying anything as he watched the towel fall off her body. His mouth fell agape, and his face turned as red as his hair. He opened and closed his mouth again and again like a stupid fish, trying to tell her that she was bare, but too surprised to utter out a word or to look away. Despite knowing better, his eyes subconsciously trailed down her body.

Botan felt the cold air hit her skin, and her eyebrows creased in confusion. She trailed her eyes downwards.

A pause.

Amethyst eyes widened in horror as she realized she was fully naked... in front of Kurama, of all people! Botan stammered, flustered, her face reddening in embarrassment. She then lifted her head to look at Kurama, wide eyed and mouth opened.

A few moments later, a loud screech sounded in the bathroom, followed by the sound of skin slapping against skin.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.**

 **Stuck With You**

 **Summary: AU, Kurama Minamino and Botan Fukuyama are sworn enemies. What happens when one day, they are handcuffed together and they don't have the key? Will they be able to put aside their differences and form a friendship... or something more?**

 **Chapter 4**

There's always something about the person you hate that just annoys the hell out of you.

In Kurama's opinion, it was Botan's rash actions. It was the way she just do something without putting much thought in it. There was always some sort of drive that pushed her to do things that people would say crazy or just over the top: for example, whenever she gets furious, she resolves into beating the hell out of the other person. Then again, maybe there was no drive. Maybe she was just weird; loony, out of her mind, lost her marbles... Kurama could go on and on.

After the whole bathroom 'incident', the duo went on a mouth-war with Kurama demanding to know the reason she'd slapped him and Botan blaming him for looking at her when she was naked. It took them about fifteen minutes to sort things out; they got Botan some spare clothes and Kurama went and took a shower of his own. No awkward moments occured (thank god), and all this they did with less words and more actions, lest they'd end up arguing with each other again.

If there was one thing they had in common, it was that they both had a silver tongue, and had a knack of getting under each other's skin.

. . .

Kurama sat indian style on the bed, with Botan facing the other side; their backs facing one another. The redhead focused all his attention on his book, and dismissed Botan's every attempt at trying to get him to talk to her. The blue haired girl, after getting bored of persuading him to say something, immediately stopped uttering out another word.

It had only been the first day and they were already on bad terms.

Well, not that they weren't on bad terms in the beginning, but still...

The two knew that they had to try to get along, or at least just stand being in the same room with each other. If they wanted to get the handcuffs off, that is. And fighting like this was making it harder to achieve.

They remained silent for a moment, neither saying a word... until Botan cleared her throat.

This gained Kurama's attention, but he made no move to acknowledge her. Instead, he waited for her to say something.

Despite not receiving any response, Botan went up and started to talk,

"Um... sorry for slapping you. I just... panicked," came her slightly inaudible voice, the words passing her lips almost too slowly for her taste.

There, she said it.

It wasn't so hard as soon as she did it; and yet, to think they spent the entire time in the bathroom arguing over that.

Kurama was unresponsive, and for a moment, Botan was afraid he might never say anything. In the back of her head, she could see herself running after a gold key, one that she knew would open the handcuffs trapping her and the redhead together. It was slowly but gradually getting further away, and she felt her legs wobble in her mind... and it almost felt as if they would stay like that forever unless a word escaped Kurama's lips.

A pause.

A very long pause.

But then, Kurama finally spoke. "I'm sorry too. For... um, you know..." the redhead trailed off, a pink color now tinted his cheeks.

It hardly seemed fair that Botan was able to finish her sentence and he stopped midway, but he couldn't bring himself to say it.

He heard a girlish giggle, which could only come from the girl behind him.

"Apology accepted." For some reason, a smile tugged at Botan's lips; it almost felt unreal to hear him apologize. Before, even if he did, the words would always be dripping with sarcasm, with no sincerity at all. And yet, now, he sounded like he actually meant it.

"You know, Kurama... I know it may be difficult, but... if we want to get out of this..." Botan didn't finish, already knowing that the redhead caught on what she meant without her needing to.

"I know," came his response.

Kurama hesitated for a bit, took a deep breath and turned around to face her... at the same time, the girl also whipped around to look at him. They blinked at each other, neither expecting to copy the other's movements.

The redhead scratched his cheek, while Botan fixed her gaze elsewhere. "Uh..."

There was another pause.

"... So, um, what do you think we should do?" Botan asked after a short while.

He raised an eyebrow at her, the corners of his mouth curling upwards into a smirk. "What else?" he merely answered. "I guess we're just going to have to try and get along. I mean, that's the only way to solve this situation after all."

"I know that, genius," she retorted with a laugh, "I mean, like, there's literally nothing we have in common... and we've been enemies for as long as I could remember. Do you really think we can pull it off?" she inquired, and arched one eyebrow in a quizzical manner.

Kurama shrugged his shoulders in response. "To be honest, I don't know. But at least, I think we should give it a try."

"... I suppose you're right."

A smirk tugged at the redhead's lips. "I'm always right," he said proudly, a haughty look now plastered on his handsome features.

Boran rolled her eyes. "Oh, don't get too smug, smartass," she retorted, her voice lacking the usual animosity it had whenever she spoke to him, despite her words.

Kurama faked a laugh. "Thanks for the compliment."

Botan made a sound that sounded between a snort and a laugh. "Sure."

A moments of silence followed after they had a few exchange of words. However, it was swiftly broken off moments later by Kurama.

"In spite of saying that we should get along, I still hate you and I can't guarantee we won't fight again."

Botan hummed in agreement. "Yeah, well, nothing's ever easy to accomplish without hard work, isn't it?" she stated more than asked. Kurama parted his lips to respond, but she quickly cut him short before he could manage. "Rhetorical question."

Tugging back the sleeve of Kurama's white shirt that had managed to slide of her shoulder, Botan went on, "Plus, who knows? Maybe after this whole ordeal, we can be friends," despite knowing there was a slim chance of that coming true. They could barely stand being in the same room without trying to bite each other's heads off.

Which was why it was no surprise when she heard Kurama say:

"I doubt it."

* * *

"I like the new look, B."

The girl in question rolled her eyes, a groan of exasperation escaping her once again as her friends teased her and a certain redhead about a certain... pair of handcuffs. The four people, Kurama, Botan, Yusuke and Kuwabara sat under a tree, eating the rest of their lunch.

She fixed a heated glare on the boy with his hair slicked back with gel. "That's not funny, Yusuke," she said dryly.

An obnoxious grin began to spread on the delinquent's face. "But it is, B... especially when you consider it's _you_ two."

"Yeah, B," Kuwabara's voice chimed in. The carrot top's face matched Yusuke's. "I mean, imagine being handcuffed to the guy you hate... must be hell, huh?" he said teasingly, a laugh erupting from his throat.

A groan began to build in Botan's chest, only to escape as a small sigh. She turned to look at Kurama sitting next to her with a slightly annoyed expression on her face. "Aren't you gonna say anything?" she asked grudgingly.

"You know, the best way to get someone to stop teasing you about a touchy subject is to simply ignore them," he simply said, without looking up from his book. "People like that are stray cats; one acknowledgement and they never leave you alone."

Kuwabara's eyebrows furrowed. "Are you implying that we're stray cats here, Kurama?"

"No," and the redhead flipped another page, "Just giving an example, is all."

"Right. Funny 'cause I'm not at all like a stray cat. If you ignore me, I'll never stop bothering you," Yusuke remarked with a small smirk.

Kurama spared him a brief glance, before focusing his gaze back on the book in his hands. "Not my problem, Yusuke. You can bother us all you want, but you'll eventually get tired of it."

The delinquent's smirk felled, his mouth forming a thin line. Sometimes he hated how smart and arrogant Kurama sounded at times.

"Fine, we'll forget about the handcuffs," Yusuke said, and raised his arms in defeat. "For now," he added in a mumble, but both Botan and Kurama heard him quite clearly.

The girl let out a loud irritated groan, but the redhead remained composed, as if he didn't really care.

Botan stared at Kurama with a weird but thoughtful look on her features. She could never guess what went on in that head of his.

"Hey, you guys going to the Maya's party?" Kuwabara inquired out of the blue and leaned closer to the other three. "I heard there's gonna be a few foreign students coming over as well," he whispered.

"Man, I'm jealous at how rich Kitajima is... she gets to organize those things and have foreigners at her house," Yusuke stated, a soft sigh escaping him. "Lucky girl." He paused, and thought it over. "I guess I'll go."

Botan arched an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yeah," the delinquent replied. "I mean, who knows? Maybe I'll get to hook up with a female foreigner," he went on, wriggling his eyebrows.

The only girl in the group gawked at him in horror. "The nerve of you, Yusuke! You know all too well you already have Keiko!"

Yusuke rolled his eyes. "Oh, quit it, Botan."

She ignored him, and proceeded to shake her head in disbelieve. "I'm taken aback, Yusuke."

"I'm taken aback he even knows the word 'female'," Kuwabara added playfully, and burst into a fit of laughter. His laughter died down soon after however, as Yusuke tackled him to the ground and said something about "kicking his ass". It didn't take long for them to start engaging themselves in a fist-fight.

Botan shook her head once again. "They never change," she muttered to no one in particular.

Despite being sworn enemies, Kurama and Botan were friends with the same people. Yusuke, Keiko, and Botan were childhood friends and went from kindergarten to highschool together. For some reason, the delinquent soon became close friends with Kurama, the redhead hanging out with them once in a while. Then came Kuwabara, his sister, Shizuru, and twin siblings, Hiei and Yukina. It was weird when you think they had the same group of friends, in spite of having different personalities and hating everything about each other. They soon got used to it though, and hung out a few times (although they were usually forced to, what's with them befriending the same people), but it didn't stop them from having a mouth-war here and then.

"Are you going?" Botan asked, cutting the silence between her and Kurama like knife through butter.

"To the party?" he answered absent-mindedly. "No."

"Oh right, I forgot. You have a dim few of everywhere with a loud crowd," she stated all too knowingly.

"And _you_ don't?" Kurama shot back. He fixed his gaze on her and quirked his eyebrows quizically at her, to which he earned a small shrug in return.

Despite their not so friendly relationship with each other, Kurama and Botan found that they noticed a lot about one another. Especially the former, as he was more of an observant person than the latter was. If there was one thing he knew about her on his long list of facts about her, was that she was never the party type. Sure, she liked surrounding herself with a lot of people, but he was certain she never favored an occasion where she could gain no benefit from. Besides, there was something that told him, underneath all that friendly and lively personality of hers, that she liked being alone at times, despite being around people most of the time.

"I suppose not," the girl responded in a low voice, eyes focused on Yusuke and Kuwabara (the former beating up the latter), on anywhere but Kurama. "Are you sure you don't want to go? What about Kitajima?"

"What about her?" came Kurama's nonchalant response.

"I thought you guys dated each other?"

The redhead rolled his eyes at the thought. "That was just a rumor, Botan. Everyone stopped talking about it a long time ago... Why are you bringing that up now?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I was just curious."

He raised his eyebrow questioningly at her. "And even if I did go, that meant you have to come along as well. What's with this thing," Kurama raised their cuffed hands and waved it in front of her, "keeping us stuck with each other."

Botan's eyes widened as a look of realization dawned on her features. "You're right. I forgot about that."

A smirk tugged at Kurama's lips. "Stupid."

The expression on the girl's face faded away, as she started to glare daggers at the redhead. "Oh, I'm sorry, but in case you don't know it yet, not everyone's as smart as you."

"You don't have to have a high IQ to know that," Kurama retorted simply, his smirk widening ever so slightly as Botan's glare intensified.

"Jerk," she called indignantly.

Kurama made no move to acknowledge her, and that served to annoy her even more.

"Why is it that you always try to pick a fight with me?" she asked grudgingly, threatening to burn a hole in Kurama's head. If only looks could kill...

"Why is it that you always try to bother me while I'm reading?" he shot back.

"Asshole."

"Idiot."

They both said at the same time.

Kurama's face soon matched Botan's, his emerald eyes menacing as they heatedly stare into her amethyst ones. The girl refused to back down, and didn't even blink as she glared back.

"I hate you, Kurama."

"Feeling's mutual."

After what seemed like forever, the duo averted their gaze. Botan 'hmph'ed and Kurama went back to his book. He didn't even manage to read the first word of where he left off, when a hand swiftly grabbed it, and took it out of his hold. Kurama blinked at his now empty hands, too surprised to react. Then, his brows furrowed... only to unfurrow as he lifted his gaze and shot a death glare at the girl beside him.

There it was, the book. Botan held it in her uncuffed hand, waved it around to taunt him and had a satisfied smirk on her face.

"Looking for this?" she mockingly asked.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.**

 **Stuck With You**

 **Summary: AU, Kurama Minamino and Botan Fukuyama are sworn enemies. What happens when one day, they are handcuffed together and they don't have the key? Will they be able to put aside their differences and form a friendship... or something more?**

 **Chapter 5**

"Give it back," Kurama calmly said, despite the dangerous edge in his voice. He extended a hand out and narrowed his eyes in warning.

"Mmm, let me think..." Botan said, tilted her head to the side and placed one finger under her chin. After a second, "Nope," she decided teasingly, a smirk playing on her lips as she waved the book around in her hands.

"I'm serious, Botan."

The girl raised an eyebrow at the glare the boy beside her sent her, but said nothing. He reached a hand out to steal it out of her grasp, only for her to put it at a far distance from him. The duo were faintly aware of the close proximity between them, his chest almost brushing against hers.

Botan's smirk widened ever so slightly, as if taunting him. Kurama's glare intensified, and he tried to grab the book again, but Botan placed it further from him. He let out an exasperated groan but the girl simply laughed.

The third time he tried, she did it again, but he hadn't realized he had leaned in far too close, and accidentally felled on top of her. Botan shrieked, taken off guard by the action.

"O-ow..." she muttered. Although the impact of the fall wasn't supposed to hurt so much, she accidentally hit her head against something hard. Probably a rock, or a tree, she didn't bother to care because she realized there was someone on top of her.

Kurama slowly lifted his upper body, but not fully. He grumbled something under his breath, and it took him a moment for the realization to hit him like a ton of bricks. He gave the girl underneath him a blank stare, too surprised to be entirely sure how to react. Botan started to blush, and for some reason, something about the red shade coloring her cheeks made him feel all... weird inside. The blank expression disappeared, and his mouth fell agape slightly.

He couldn't help but stare at her more.

"W-wha-"

A moment of silence... which only seemed to last only seconds as it was soon broken by Yusuke and Kuwabara.

"Oh shit, what the hell happened here?" the carrot top's voice questioned.

"Hey, get a room, you guys." Yusuke snickered.

That was when Kurama realized what was going on, breaking off whatever trance he was in. He immediately got off of her, backing away from the girl as far away as possible. Botan's blush slowly began to fade away, her embarrassment dying down somewhat, only to be replaced by a look of confusion.

What in the world just happened?

She blinked at the redhead, wondered what went on his mind for awhile before brushing it off. For a moment there, she almost thought he was going to kiss her... what's with that stare and all... She shook her head, reminding herself that Kurama hated her.

Kurama, on the other hand, looked away, focusing his gaze on anywhere but Botan's face. For some odd and unknown reason, his face felt like it was heated up, and he could almost feel the blush he must've been sporting. Which served to aggravate him even more. He never used to need a reminder that they hated each other, but it felt like he needed one now.

Both ignored the teasing comments the other two gave, too absorbed in their own thoughts to bother.

* * *

"As you all know, we're going to have a science project going on," the teacher started, and tucked her black hair behind her ear, "With that said, I have assigned you with your partners. You will be working in a group of two, and remember, the presentation's next Tuesday."

She decided to ignore the bored looks she received from the majority of the students in class. Instead, she opened the brown folder she had brought with her, coughed to gain everyone's attention, and went on, "So, Urameshi-kun's going to be teamed up with Kuwabara-kun. Yukimura-san, you're with Jaganshi Yukina-san. And Shizuru, your partner is Jaganshi Hiei-kun..."

The teacher's voice drowned in the multiple groans she earned in return. Yusuke and Kuwabara grumbled a few things under her breath, but Keiko and Yukina went up and did a high five, clearly happy to be partnered together than their boyfriends. Shizuru's eyebrows furrowed, and she turned to look at Hiei, who shot her a death glare. She sweatdropped.

"Minamino-kun and Fukuyama-san... you two will be working together-"

Whatever she had to say, the teacher didn't manage to finish as she was swiftly cut short. Kurama raised one hand in question, and she tilted her head to the side. "Yes, what is it, Minamino-kun?"

"Why am I teamed up with her? I'm usually..." He spared a brief glance at his friend Kaito, who merely shrugged his shoulders. The frown on his face deepened.

"Well, Kaitou-kun is on the same group as Yanagisawa-kun, so..." she trailed off, her eyes traveling to Botan's and Kurama's joined wrists, the handcuffs trapping them together sticking out almost terribly in the class. "Um... since you have your own 'casualties', you're gonna have to..."

"Alright, fine," Kurama cut her off, his voice calm but he did not look amused. Assuming he had no choice in the matter and that a part of him agreed that it was true, Kurama relented.

The teacher nodded her head, before continuing on where she left off. "Hanayuri-san and Kimihiro-kun..."

The redhead stopped listening to what she was saying, and turned to cast a glare at Botan, who was sitting beside him. They weren't originally seated beside each other, but considering the handcuffs, the girl had to change seats.

"Don't drag me down," he said harshly, his voice deadly cold like winter.

Botan's jaw dropped at his words. Her dragging him down? More like the other way around! She matched her expression with his.

"Same goes to you, little red riding hood," she spat venomously, purposely calling him 'little red riding hood' because of his vibrant red hair.

Kurama's eyebrow visibly twitched.

"Witch," he retorted, his voice slightly rising up a notch, remembering a time when he'd overheard her telling the girls about wanting to ride a broom. He'd thought it was childish.

The two didn't notice the weird looks their classmates sent them, or maybe they just didn't care, too used to getting all sort of stares whenever they fought.

"Plant-crazed maniac," she shot back, fire raging in her usually bright and lively amethyst orbs, recalling the day before when she'd seen the various plants in his room, and all around his house. Although she'd heard about it before from her friends, it was hard to believe until she'd seen it with her own eyes. Even though it was kind of sweet, Botan didn't know anyone else who'd spent their time fending too plants so much like Kurama.

"Horror freak."

"Anti social asshole."

"Worst chef ever."

"Fucking know it all."

"Stupid."

"Idiot."

"Annoying."

"Arrogant!"

"Loser!"

Theie insults went from memories of facts they'd noticed about each other to plain stupid. Kurama and Botan glared, their eyes threatening to burn a hole in the other's head. They looked away with a 'hmph', Botan crossing her arms and Kurama furiously fixing his gaze outside class. Once again, they ignored the weird looks they gained from their classmates.

* * *

Kurama and Botan hadn't spoken since.

The redhead focused all his attention on his book, intent on blocking out everyone, especially Botan. Their English teacher was absent, so it was self study period and Kurama was determined to use all that time to finish reading the entire book.

On the other hand, Botan played nervously with her fingers, not knowing what to do or what to say. She felt the sudden urge to... a deep red blush appeared on her cheeks. She timidly cast Kurama a brief glance, bit her lip and wondered for a moment if she should say anything. She really wished she didn't have to, but... she couldn't hold it in anymore!

"Um... Kurama..." she called, albeit a little hesitantly.

The girl's call didn't went unnoticed by the redhead, but he decided not to acknowledge her. A moment later, she called again, this time louder. "Kurama!" But he ignored her for the second time.

Botan heavily sighed, and gave up on calling Kurama's name. Instead, she went and tug on his sleeve, but the boy didn't budge. She blinked, before trying again, this time tugging harder. When he was unresponsive yet again, Botan tugged harder; maybe a little too hard, as she almost tore the cloth apart. Kurama, realizing she wasn't going to live him alone until he gave a response, let out a soft yet exasperated sigh.

He turned to look at her, and glared daggers her way.

"What?" he asked harshly, his voice rough. He meant to sound composed, but the irritation got the better of him, and a growl had managed to escape him.

... Well, he was _not_ having a good day.

Usually, Botan would spit something back; insult him or at the very least, heatedly gave him a glare back in response. But instead, she had a blush on her face which, for some reason, deepened at his question.

"Um..." the girl started nervously.

"'Um' what? What do you want? Just say it already," Kurama exclaimed exasperatedly.

"U-Um, uh, I..." Botan's voice still hesitated, and he rolled his eyes, resisting the urge to shake the girl by the shoulders and tell her to speak faster.

That was when he noticed something strange: Botan was fidgeting a lot, and her hands were gripping her skirt almost too tightly. Not to mention, she was squeezing her legs together as if she was trying to hold something in.

Kurama's brows formed a crease. He stared at her legs in confusion, pondering why she was doing that with them.

Suddenly, a cough reached his ears, snapping him out of his musings. He lifted his gaze to Botan's face, but the frown remained on his forehead. The blush on her cheeks were somewhat gone, now turning into a lighter shade of pink.

She took a deep breath, before looking at him right in the eye, and said, almost too curtly, for Kurama's comfort,

"I need to go to the bathroom."

Kurama almost felled off his chair.

 **Okay, sorry guys. This chapter is shorter than the others, but the next ones will be longer... I think. Haha. Anyway, review if you have the time!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.**

 **Stuck With You**

 **Summary: AU, Kurama Minamino and Botan Fukuyama are sworn enemies. What happens when one day, they are handcuffed together and they don't have the key? Will they be able to put aside their differences and form a friendship... or something more?**

 **Chapter 6  
**

After Botan's embarrassing confession, Kurama had dragged her out of class with his legs walking at the speed of a lightning bolt. All the while, he ignored Botan's constant demands for him to _fucking_ slow down, too caught up in his attempt to bring them to a more secluded place to discuss... uh, her private matters.

The redhead stopped when they reached the roof, closed the door behind him and took a deep breath to calm himself down. He leaned his forehead against the door frame, tempted to slam his head against it multiple times. The goddamn handcuffs were literally making his life hell.

Botan stared at his back, blinked a few times as she pondered what the redhead was thinking about. "A penny for your thoughts?" she said after a while.

Kurama visibly tensed at her voice, as if he was not expecting her to be the first to say something. Then, he whipped his head around to fix a glare at her face. "Can't you wait until we get home?" he asked grudgingly.

The girl blinked stupidly, and it took her a moment to realize what he meant. A frown began to form itself on her forehead.

"What, you mean like after school is over?"

Kurama rolled his eyes. "When else do you suggest?" he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"I _suggest_ ," she started, the tone of her voice matching his, "we go now."

She received another roll of Kurama's eyes, and a groan of exasperation in return.

He slapped a hand to his face, which he brought down in his features slowly. "Do we _have_ to?"

"Yes," Botan's answer came almost immediately.

Kurama shook his head in disbelieve, causing her to yelp out, " _Please_! I _really_ need to go right now. I can't hold it in anymore!" she practically wailed, and started flailing her arms around in frustration.

The redhead roughly tugged back his cuffed hand, which Botan was swinging around here and there. "I didn't need to know that! I didn't want to know that!" he roared back, all the while resisting the urge to jump down the roof right then and there.

"Please, Kurama!" the girl begged, and ignored the way Kurama's brows furrowed in frustration.

"No," he stubbornly replied, his voice firm, leaving no room for disagreement. He started to turn around to walk back to class and intended to drag her along with him, only to stop dead in his tracks when she tugged at his sleeve.

He heavily sighed.

"Pretty please, Kurama?" Botan's voice pleaded again, and he did his best not to acknowledge her. "Come on, Kurama, when do you ever hear me say please?"

She tugged at his sleeve a few more times, until the redhead finally gave up, raised his arms in defeat and reluctantly complied. "Fine!" he forced out his answer.

"Yeah!" Botan jumped, and cheered... only to stop when the action made her feel like she wanted to 'go' even more.

"Excuse me for asking this though," Kurama started, after a while of slowly accepting his fate, " _How_ do you suggest we do this?"

She blinked. "What do you mean?"

He rolled his eyes, heaving out a sigh of exasperation. "Do you seriously not get it? We're handcuffed, so we have to decide right now: are we going to the girls' toilet or the boys?" he blatantly stated.

Botan frowned. "The girls' of course," and when Kurama's expression matched hers, she quickly added, "What, you don't suggest we go inside the boys' toilet, do you?" in disbelieve.

At the blank stare Kurama gave her, it was all the answer she needed. She gawked at him. "No way ho zay! I'd rather die!"

"Then go on and jump off this roof," he coldly and unhesitatingly shot back. He shot her a deadpanned look, to which she stared at him weirdly in response, as if he had two heads attached on one body.

"You're serious, aren't you?" she inquired slowly, albeit a bit reluctantly: she almost didn't want to hear the answer.

He narrowed his eyes dangerously her way. "Do I look like I'm kidding?"

"But, don't guys pee standing? So what do you want me to do, pee _standing_?" she asked incredulously.

He shrugged his shoulders, and Botan almost didn't believe him.

"No," she stubbornly said, and shook her head in disagreement.

He cast her a death glare. "I'm practically accompanying you to the toilet, can't you do this one 'favor' for me?" he spat venomously.

"I said no, and it means no!" she shot back.

"Then hold it in until we get home!"

"But I can't!"

"Then doesn't leave you much of a choice, now does it?"

The girl was unresponsive after that; staring at him quietly and didn't let out another word. Kurama, taking that as a 'yes', made to turn around to open the door.

Botan grabbed a hold of his sleeve, tugging it again. She heard him sigh softly, and saw him whip his head around and regard her with a look that meant 'What?'

"Please, Kurama..." she begged, her voice low, almost inaudible as the word passed her lips, "I can't go in the boys' toilet. I-it's too embarrassing, I can't handle it."

"This is embarrassing for me, too," he retorted simply, his voice soft.

"B-but..." Botan bit her lip and stared at her feet. A few moments of silence passed, but she still didn't let go of Kurama's sleeve, in fear he'd start to drag her to the boys' toilet. She gulped, lifted her head and pulled the cutest face she could manage.

" _Please_?"

At the desperate tone in her voice, and the look she gave him, Kurama heaved a sigh of defeat.

"Alright."

* * *

The duo peeked behind a wall as they watched a few girls exit the girls' toilet. A few girlish giggles echoed in the hallway as the girls laughed and joked around with each other. Moments later, the sound disappeared into thin air, slowly fading away, implying they were gone.

"Alright, now's the time," Botan whispered, and started to drag a still reluctant Kurama towards the toilet. She glanced here and there for any students, and after checking high and low that there was none, she sighed in relief.

She whipped her head around, a small smile playing at the corners of her mouth. "I just want you to know I really appreciate you doing this for me. You're a nice guy, after all, Kurama."

The boy in question merely gave her an annoyed stare. "Whatever. Let's just get this over with before someone comes and sees us."

Botan's smile didn't falter; instead, it widened, as she nodded her head. She then quickly and quietly entered the restroom, Kurama following closely behind her. She heard him grumble something grudgingly under his breath, but didn't acknowledge him.

After a few checks in the stalls, looking for a clean and decent one, Botan finally decided on one. She spared a glance at Kurama, and sheepishly sent him a grin. "You know you're going to have to go in too, right?"

"Well, not like I have a choice, now do I?" he spat back, his voice harsh. "If I stand out here, someone could come in and see. And we wouldn't want that, now would we?"

She shook her head. "No," she quietly said, and after a hesitant moment, went inside the stall. Kurama followed suit, closed the door behind him and realized it was slightly cramped inside, the stall having little to no space at all.

"Go on then. Finish your business," he said unceremoniously. If they'd taken a bath whilst being in the same bathroom, then this wasn't going to be so bad, now would it?

She nodded her head, and after a pause, "Turn around," she ordered when the boy didn't look away.

He blinked stupidly, before realizing he was still facing her. He developed a pink tinge in the face. "Right," he said promptly, and swiftly whipped around. He heard Botan shuffle, and could only assume that was her lifting up her skirt and sliding down her underwear. The pink blush began to turn crimson at the somewhat indecent image he'd managed to conjure up in his head, and he immediately brushed it off.

"This is disturbing on so many levels," Kurama muttered under his breath. He heard the water running, and could only wish that it would end sooner.

His words didn't go unnoticed by Botan, but received no response either.

After what seemed like forever, she finally finished, and went to wash her hands with soap that was fortunately inside the stall, seated neatly in a small cup beside her. She grabbed it and started to rub it all over her hands, before washing it off. After she was done, she promptly turned off the faucet. Reaching down to put on her panties, Botan swiftly fixed her skirt and dusted debris off of it.

"I'm done," she informed him.

Kurama heaved a sigh of relief, but before he could open the door, the toilet door outside slammed open and he stopped dead in his movements. He quickly slapped a hand to Botan's lips, in an attempt to shut her up. Botan, who hadn't heard the door opening, started to protest, the sound of her voice muffled by Kurama's hand.

He placed a finger to his lips, and shushed her. He tilted his head outside the stall, silently telling her to listen. She promptly quieted down, her ears perking up to pick up any sound. Then, a feminine voice started to speak, one that sounded suspiciously familiar,

"So, your place or mine?" the girl asked, and Kurama and Botan both screamed in their minds: Keiko!

Their eyes widened and they glanced at each other.

"Maybe yours. My brother doesn't really like visitors coming over, after all," Yukina replied, and the duo nearly slammed their foreheads against each other in frustration.

Great. Just great.

"Right. I wouldn't wanna be thrown out by Hiei," Keiko playfully said, a laugh erupting from her throat, and Yukina soon joined her.

Kurama and Botan were oblivious to the spider creeping up the wall, dangerously close to Botan's figure. The redhead removed his hand from the girl's lips, entirely sure that she wasn't stupid enough to say anything, lest they'd get caught by their friends. More talking followed, and Kurama began to feel impatient. He placed an ear against the door frame, and listened to the two girls outside, waiting for any sound that would imply that they were out of the toilet. After a while, he got bored as the only sound he could hear was their conversation, and turned to look at Botan.

That was when he noticed the spider creeping towards her. His eyes widened, and he parted his lips to warn her, only to stop when he realized that Keiko and Yukina were still in the restroom. So, he resulted to pointing his finger at the spider, and received a frown from Botan in return.

She slowly trailed her eyes towards the direction he was pointing at, but before she could manage to get a glimpse at what it was, the spider quickly jumped on top of her, landing abruptly on her chest. Eyes widening in half horror and half shock, Botan somewhat forgotten about their friends outside and made to scream.

Kurama, too alarmed at the realization that she was going to yell, didn't have time to think clearly... and on impulse, instantly crushed his lips against hers. This managed to silence Botan, her voice muffled by the kiss. A few moments passed, before realization struck them like lightning. He stared wide-eyed into her equally wide amethyst ones: why did he do that?

Botan didn't push him away, too surprised by his actions to move a muscle.

At that exact moment, the bathroom door outside opened and closed, signalling Keiko and Yukina had gone.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.**

 **Stuck With You**

 **Summary: AU, Kurama Minamino and Botan Fukuyama are sworn enemies. What happens when one day, they are handcuffed together and they don't have the key? Will they be able to put aside their differences and form a friendship... or something more?**

 **Chapter 7**

Kurama pulled apart as if he had been struck by lightning. His mouth felled open for an excuse, but nothing came. He was too stunned at himself to utter out anything. _What_ the hell possesed him to do that?

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't-"

Botan shook her head, and raised her hand for him to stop talking, cutting short his sentence. She stared at the floor, a deep red blush coloring her cheeks. What just happened? Did they just kiss? Did she just... did she just...

She inwardly shook her head furiously. No! It was just a small brush... a small brush... that _had_ lingered for at least a few seconds...

The girl blushed harder.

The air was suddenly very tense and awkward. Although it had always been that way when they were around each other, it felt... weird at a whole different level.

Kurama swallowed a lump in his throat. He fixed his tie nervously, and made to continue, despite the hand sign she had given him. "It was an accident... I-I acted spontaneously... When you were about to scream..."

He didn't even manage to finish his explanation, when Botan spoke. "No, forget it, Kurama," she said in a tiny voice. "Let"s just pretend it never happened, okay?"

Botan's words sounded firm as they passed her lips, but the red shade on her cheeks never faded away. Why wouldn't it go away?

Silence.

"... Okay," the redhead responded after a while. He stared at the girl when she still didn't lift her head. Emerald eyes blinked.

Botan could feel his eyes on her, watching her, gazing at her... Her heart suddenly started to beat really fast: why was he staring at her? She knew he must be waiting for her reaction, but the longer she remained quiet, the more his gaze seemed to... just stare right through her. She bit her lip, took a deep breath, and against her better judgement, raised her head to look at him.

Emeralds locked with amethyst.

Kurama's eyes widened into saucers at the blush she adorned on her face; red, flushed and... slightly cute. His brows creased when he realized he had just called her 'cute. He shook his head, reprimanding himself for letting Botan catch him off guard.

Despite that, blood immediately rushed to his cheeks.

"W-why are you looking at me like that?" Botan stuttered when the redhead's gaze lingered on her face. "And w-why on earth are you _blushing_?"

"Nothing. It's nothing," Kurama abruptly retorted.

He looked away, his face growing hotter. "And I am _not_ blushing... _you_ are."

"W-what?" Botan screeched. "No, I'm not!"

Contrary to her words, the red color tinting and warming her cheeks visibly darkened, her face heating up.

"Yeah, right," he attempted to scoff at her, only to frown deeply when it came out as a small, low and timid whisper. "You know you are."

"No, I told you, I'm not," she stubbornly denied.

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not."

" _Yes_ , you are."

"For the _last_ time, I am not blushing!"

A pause. A long... long pause.

The duo stared at each other, faces red, though the girl's was a shade darker than the boy's was. Botan grinded her teeth against her lower lip.

"I hate you..." she muttered under her breath.

That seemed to make Kurama's blush slowly fade away.

"Good, because I hate you too."

* * *

Kurama threw his bag nonchalantly and it landed somewhere in the room. He flopped down the bed, and clossed his eyes, exhausted: it had been a _very_ tiring day at school. These last couple of days seemed like they lasted forever, and it had everything to do with the girl he was handcuffed with.

He peeked one eye open to look at her. Botan had taken a seat beside him on the bed, her eyes fixed on the wall.

"What? Don't tell me you fell in love with the wall now?" he asked sarcastically.

Botan's blue brows furrowed and she spared him a brief glance. She then rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"No, you idiot," she retorted with a huff, "I was just... thinking."

"What about?" the redhead inquired again, despite the fact he didn't really care.

She shot him a weird stare, the frown on her forehead visibly deepened. He _rarely_ asked anything about her: why the sudden change?

Finding herself slightly disturbed by her enemy's odd display of behavior, Botan decided against answering him and instead, focused her eyes on the handcuffs. She gave the metal material a heated glare, as if trying to burn a hole in it in an attempt to free her from Kurama's "evil clutches".

"You know, first of all, glaring at it like that isn't gonna change anything," Kurama's voice stated matter of factly, and she resisted the urge to roll her eyes again. "And second of all, you're pretty rude for someone who's staying over at _my_ place."

"If it weren't for the stupid handcuffs," he went on, and proceeded to raise their joined hands, roughly waving them at her face, "I would"ve kicked you out a long time ago."

Botan could feel her irritation rising up a notch, especially when Kurama had tugged at her hand hard enough to hurt her wrist and make her wince. She narrowed her eyes at him.

She tugged her hand back, therefore, tugging Kurama's as well. "For your information, if it weren't for _these_ ," She started to wave their hands around, copying his actions, "I wouldn't even be here."

Botan meant to finish, but her mouth kept going before she could stop herself. "And all this messed up shit wouldn't happen! I wouldn't have to take a bath with you in the bathroom, I didn't have to ask you to accompany me to the toilet when I had to pee!... A-and that-that _kiss_ wouldn't have happened!" She flung her arms in the air, tears stinging the back of her eyes. "None of this would've happened!"

The girl placed her face in her hands, and shook her head repeatedly. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself down. She didn't know why she snapped like that: maybe she was just getting tired of constantly fighting with Kurama, maybe she just missed her mom and dad... maybe she just wanted things to be the way they used to be.

Or maybe she just wanted to go back through time, to prevent that _kiss_ from happening...

Her mind was clouded in confusion ever since the whole little 'incident'.

Her heart was starting to beat really fast even though she wished it didn't, her cheeks was starting to heat up every now and then for almost no reason at all, and her stomach... she could practically feel the _butterflies_ in her stomach.

And it was all Kurama's fault.

Why did he have to go up and do that?

Then, she wouldn't be so _confused_ with her feelings.

Kurama, on the other hand, was speechless after her rant. He remained silent, watching with wide and slightly fearful eyes as the girl suddenly started to cry, sobs leaving her. Although they had been arguing for years, none of their arguments was ever like _this_. It would usually be them shooting sarcastic remarks at each other, or blaming one another for one bad thing that occured. Botan had _never_ expressed her feelings in such a... sentimental way and she had not cried because of him. _Ever._

The only time he saw her cry was when her father was sent to the hospital because of a heart attack. He'd seen her sobbing at the stairs at school, and although it had hardly been an appropriate place, she had been there, sitting there, curled up like a little girl. Just like she was right now. But, this time she was crying because of _him_. _He_ was the reason behind her tears.

Kurama suddenly felt guilty.

He wrapped an arm hesitantly around her shoulders, felt her flinch at his touch, but she didn't pull away. Kurama accepted that as a good sign. He sighed, and started to pat her shoulder in a comforting way. A light shade of pink colored his cheeks; he wasn't good at comforting, the only comfort he ever gave was to his mother, and even that was a _long_ time ago.

"Look, Botan," he started, his voice unnaturally soft, and he silently noted how she stopped crying, but still didn't make a move to remove her hands that was covering her face. "I know you think this is difficult. Heck, _I'm_ difficult. And I'm sorry you have to go through all this... but, w-we're in this together," he said slowly, trying to choose his words carefully, lest he made the girl cry again.

Botan looked up from her hands to fix her gaze on him. "You really mean that?" she asked in a tiny, helpless voice; almost that of a small child's, and hiccuped.

Kurama gulped down a lump. His heart started thumping loudly against his chest: why did she have to look like that? Cheeks slightly pink, face tear-strickened, and eyes red and sore from crying too much... and those lips... God, _those_ lips! Don't bite them like that! Don't... tempt... him...

Why did she have to look so _adorable_?

Kurama shook his head rapidly to get rid of the thoughts. But the harder he tried to push them away, the more persistent they grew: conjuring up themselves more and more in his mind. He furrowed his brows in frustration, and closed his eyes, taking a few deep breaths to regain his composure.

When he finally opened them, he caught sight of Botan staring at him worriedly. She would _never_ look at him like that; was the girl slowly and gradually changing in personality? Or was she trying to drive him insane?

Something about her being concerned over him got him all excited.

He leaned in closer towards her, until their shoulders brushed, and traced his hand over her smooth cheek. He wiped away her tears, before pulling his fingers apart from her face, and licking off the salty substance from them. He lifted his gaze, searched her face for some sort of reaction and was somewhat pleased when the girl blushed beet red in embarrassment. What had gotten into the redhead?

He tucked a strand of blue hair behind her ear, brushing his fingers at the back of her head and revelled in the way she shivered against his touch. He wasn't sure what was wrong with him, it was as if he was in a trance, and couldn't get himself to stop.

Botan deliciously bit her lip. She casted her eyes downwards, lips trembling and cheeks blushing red and turning warm. She lifted her gaze then, fixed it on him and gave him a shy look; mouth slightly apart, cheeks tinted pink, and those amethyst eyes staring at him, _pleading_...

Kurama almost lost control of himself.

He broke out of whatever trance he was under, and after one final brush of his fingers against her warm cheek, he pulled away. "Don't look at me like that," he whispered, voice low, gentle but firm. His expression turned serious and, "Just don't, okay?" he said again, this time firmer.

Botan blinked at him, bewildered, and stared at him in confusion for a moment, before nodding her head mutely. She didn't really understand what he meant: how did she look at him? Did she do something odd? She couldn't help but wonder. But, then again, it was a good thing he stopped... He was making her feel all those weird feelings again.

Both felled silence after that.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.**

 **Stuck With You**

 **Summary: AU, Kurama Minamino and Botan Fukuyama are sworn enemies. What happens when one day, they are handcuffed together and they don't have the key? Will they be able to put aside their differences and form a friendship... or something more?**

 **Chapter 8**

"Do you wanna take a bath?" Botan suddenly said, breaking off the silence.

Kurama darted his eyes towards her, quirked his eyebrow and tilted his head. "Why? Do you want to?"

"Well... only if _you_ want to," she told him.

A smirk tugged at Kurama's lips, mirth danced in his emerald orbs. "Why so considerate all of a sudden, Botan?" he teased.

"Would you like me to be an ass to you then?" she offered sarcastically, wearing an equally sardonic expression her soft features. "Cause if you want to, I would."

A laughter began to build inside the redhead's chest, before erupting from his throat. "Well, for your information, I kind of like you better this way," he playfully said to her, a smile teasing his lips.

"Whatever," Botan tried to sound nonchalant, but a blush appeared on her face. Why was it that he was able to embarrass her with just simple words?

"Anyway, about your offer," Kurama started, abruptly changing the subject, "I guess I _would_ like a shower. Today's been really tiring than most days."

She arched an eyebrow at him. "Any particular reason?" she inquired in curousity.

He shrugged his shoulders, but the corners of his mouth curved upwards into a wolfish grin. "To be honest, considering I'm stuck with you, that's to be expected," he said, feigning a thoughtful look.

Botan shot a death glare his way, to which his grin visibly widened, now revealing his pearl white teeth.

"You know, just when I thought I could stand you at least a little bit, you just _had_ to prove me wrong, didn't you?" she asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

There was a glint of... something in his eyes, and for a moment, his grin wavered, before appearing on his face again. "Well, since we _are_ enemies, I'm used to being a jerk to you."

"So, you're saying you just like treating me like shit?"

"Don't _you_?" Kurama shot back angrily, his usually bright emerald eyes turning darker with fury. He didn't know why, but her words just... _pissed him off_. He didn't understand; she'd said a lot of worse things before, but...

He shook his head to clear his thoughts. Standing up from the bed, Kurama darted his eyes downwards to look at the girl. Botan stared at him, dumbfounded by his earlier remark. The look didn't go unnoticed by the redhead, but was not acknowledged by him either. Instead, he pulled at the metal chain connecting their wrists, tugging at her hand.

"Come on. You offered me a bath, so I'm going to take it," he said, his tone calm and even, yet she caught the anger lying dormant in his voice.

Botan, who didn't get why he was indignant at her, couldn't do anything but nod her head. She pushed herself off the bed, but as soon as she stood up on her two feet, Kurama had dragged her to the bathroom without warning.

"Hey," Botan called once they entered the bathroom. Kurama stopped in his tracks, and regarded her with a brief glance. He strolled towards the bathtub, and opened the shower, testing its temperature.

Blue brows furrowed as the girl realized he was ignoring her. She stared at his back for a moment, before heaving a defeated sigh.

"What's wrong with you?" she asked, and sounded as if she was genuinely worried about him. At the concern in her voice, Kurama turned to look at her, his eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Come again?"

She flung her arms in the air, ignoring the way Kurama tugged his hand back when it moved with her. "You're acting so weird!" she cried out.

"Weird, as in?" he prodded, despite already knowing the answer.

Botan gave him a blank stare, debating whether or not she should respond. If she had to put it to words, she wouldn't know how.

"Did I do something or say something that upset you?" she inquired instead, and pondered the question herself.

She didn't think she said anything offensive. True enough, what she said earlier in the bedroom, _was_ offensive, but she hardly thought that was what ticked him off. They'd exchange worse words to each other, and even then, Kurama didn't seem to be bothered by it as he did now.

Botan hated to admit it, but she _was_ worried about him.

Just a little.

Kurama expelled a deep sigh. "No. It's nothing... it's just... Forget it. I don't know why I'm so irritated right now, but... maybe I'm just exhausted. Maybe after a little bath I'll be alright," he lied. But he would admit that he did enjoy having her concerned about him. For what reason, he wasn't entirely sure.

"... Okay," Botan relented after a while. She didn't buy the lie, but decided to play along.

"Mind turning around?"

"Oh. No, I don't mind at all," the girl nodded her head. She spared him one last brief glance, blushing hotly when he started to unbutton his uniform. She quickly looked away, fixing her gaze on the cold and wet tiled floor.

She felt a tug at her hand, and could only guess that was Kurama entering the bathtub. Curtains sliding close, shower turning on, Botan finally expelled the breath she had been holding without realizing it.

She would admit that she was a bit curious as to how Kurama's body would look like. In spite of already taking baths with one another in the same bathroom, she had never truly seen him naked... or half naked for that matter. She would always try to look away until he was fully dressed, scared that she might faint out of a nosebleed if she didn't.

The red shade on her cheeks turned darker at the dirty thoughts she managed to conjure up in her head. She tried to rid them of her mind, but the more she tried, the more they insisted on staying.

Another tug. Was he reaching for the soap?

Fortunately, unlike her, Kurama was careful and observant enough to know which hand to use, therefore, her fingers didn't brush against him like his did with her. Botan's face turned as red as a tomato as the memories came flooding her head. Why was she thinking about _that_?... Well, not like she could help it...

. . .

"Botan, I'm coming out," Kurama announced, as if to warn her.

He received no answer, causing him to furrow his eyebrows, and ponder what was wrong with the girl. After a moment though, he brushed it off, assuming that was her ignoring him again.

. . .

Botan, being too caught up in her thoughts to had heard him, were caught off guard when the redhesd suddenly exited the bathtub with nothing but his towel to cover... uh, ahem, his _most private_ part. Her body stiffened, and the blush on her face impossibly deepened at the sight of him. Subconsciously, her eyes traveled up and down his body, scrutinizing his appearance.

His hair was wet (as expected), drops of water lingering at the tip of his red hair. More trickled down his upper body; from his neck, to his chest and his arms, his alabaster chest and goddamn, those abs... She hadn't realized she had been staring until Kurama suddenly tugged at her wrist.

She lifted her head to fix her gaze on his face... which was sporting an amused grin.

"Like what you see?" he teased, laughing when the girl's flushed cheeks darkened, "So, Botan, do I look like Freddy Krueger to you?" he asked playfully and tilted his head at her. He quirked one eyebrow quizically, a heart-stopping smirk lingering at the corners of his lips.

"S-shut up, Kurama," Botan mustered up the courage to say.

"Well, I'll take that as a yes. Besides, you seemed to be enjoying the view... what's with the obvious leering and all."

"N-no, I didn't!" she cried out indignantly, her cheeks growing hotter in half embarrassment and half anger. "You're so full of yourself, Kurama!" she continued indignantly.

She took a step forward, and made to give him a piece of her mind. A shout began to build inside her chest... only to escape as a shriek when she accidentally slipped on the cold, wet floor.

She tumbled forward towards Kurama, who caught her just in time before she managed to fall face first on the dirty floor. She shut her eyes tight, only to open them and blink in confusion when she realized there was no fall.

... Then, she realized something else.

Strong arms were wrapped around her waist protectively, she could feel the muscles flexing. And her face... her soft cheek was against something hard...

Then it hit her like a ton of bricks.

She widened her eyes in shock, and before she could react, heard a masculine voice said, "Are you okay? Sheesh, you should really look where you're going..." he adviced her, his voice like silk and his breath fanned hotly against her ear as he spoke.

In one swift motion, she placed a hand on the chest her face had been lying against, and proceeded to slowly dart her eyes upwards to the owner's face. "K-Kurama..." she whispered, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape.

She felt Kurama's body flexed against her touch, before realizing her hand was still on his chest. She immediately pulled it away, her cheeks heating up and incoherent words leaving her lips. "I-I... Y-you... Wha-?" she wasn't able to finish, too surprised and too embarrassed to think clearly. She could hardly string a sentence in her mind, much less say it out loud.

She made to remove herself from his embrace, but Kurama pulled her closer, his hold around her waist tightening ever so slightly. She looked up at him, cheeks flushed, and shot him a glare. What was he planning now?

"Kurama..." she growled out his name, and narrowed her eyes dangerously at him, as if warning him not to do anything reckless.

"I'm not going to let go until you admit that I'm attractive," came Kurama's response to the look, earning a deep frown from the girl in his arms in return.

She parted her lips to throw an insult his way, only to gasp sharply when she felt his hands stroking her back, long fingers drawing enticing circles along the spot. She bit her lip, her legs starting to shake: What the _hell_ is going on here?

"What do you think you're doing?" she managed to ask. She meant to sound stern, but her words passed her lips in a quiet whisper. She cursed at herself.

"What do you think I'm doing?" the redhead merely shot back. A smirk tugged at his lips, emerald eyes dancing in mischief. "I'm going to make you admit you admit that I am, in a matter of fact, irresistable."

"By sexually harrassing me?!"

He arched an eyebrow at her, an amused expression crossing his handsome features. "I haven't even done anything yet." He paused, the smirk widening in a way that sent a delicious shiver down Botan's spine. "Are you already excited?" he continued to tease.

Reaching up a hand to her hair, Kurama removed her wristband, letting her strands of blue hair to cascade beautifully down her shoulders and back. He ran his hands through it, before twirling one strand around his index finger. Kurama brought it to his lips. "I like your hair..." he mumbled.

Botan let out a moan involutarily at the display. He gave her a seductive yet teasing grin, causing her to look downwards.

Kurama abruptly cupped her chin, tilting her face up until she met his gaze.

"Are you going to admit it now?"

Botan parted her lips to say 'fuck off'; she hated the feelings he ignited within her... but nothing came, and she closed it once again. Instead, she stared into his eyes timidly, her tongue darting out to nervously lick her lips. Her cheeks were flushed a cute shade a pink, eyes slightly half lidded and breathing slightly heavy, soft, pink lips now wet, inviting...

The sight caught Kurama off guard, emerald eyes widening and smirk falling off his face. His mouth hung open: why did she have to look so... so appealing? So... fucking beautiful and ravishing like that?

Naughty thoughts started to invade his head, clouding his bright emerald eyes into a dark forest green. He gulped down a lump, tried to control himself, but to no avail.

When she bit her lip, teeth grinding at the plump skin, Kurama couldn't take it anymore.

He pulled her tightly against him, body flushed against his, and devoured her lips in an instant.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.**

 **Stuck With You**

 **Summary: AU, Kurama Minamino and Botan Fukuyama are sworn enemies. What happens when one day, they are handcuffed together and they don't have the key? Will they be able to put aside their differences and form a friendship... or something more?**

 **Chapter 9**

Kurama broke off the kiss and stared at Botan for a split second. The girl looked as if she was torn between being angry and embarrassed. Her mouth parted to yell at him, but she didn't even manage to utter out a word as the redhead abruptly kissed her again, his warm lips coming in contact with hers.

She tried to speak, but she only managed to let out a muffled noise as instead of letting her go, Kurama deepened the kiss. She felt his arms tightened their grip around her waist, his hold almost possessive. Her cheeks started to heat up when she realized she could feel the hard contours of his body pressing against hers. And he... he was half _naked_ , for god's sake! The guy was practically topless, with drops of water still trickling down his body and dampening her clothes.

She _had_ to stop this... but, but...

She sighed into the kiss, before closing her eyes, her lips slowly but gradually starting to move against his. He growled, the sound making delicious vibrations against her mouth, pleased to see that she was finally responding. He was clearly enjoying this.

Botan, on the other hand, knew they should stop... but, goddamn it, Kurama Minamino was such a good kisser...

For a moment, she wondered if he was experienced, if he'd done this before. At the thought, her chest tightened, and something stabbed at her heart... like hurt... or jealousy? _That's ridiculous. This doesn't mean anything_ , she thought, quickly brushing the feeling off.

 _She_ , on the other hand, didn't have much experience as the redhead probably did. She had no idea what to do, and just moved her lips according to what she'd seen in movies, or when she'd caught a couple kissing in public.

... Then again, maybe Kurama was just as inexperienced as she was.

. . .

Kurama wondered if he was doing it right. He never did this before: he didn't have a girlfriend or a love interest to try it out with. He recalled a few kiss scenes he'd read in his books; granted, he wasn't that of a romance fan, but he read anything that was worth reading.

It was a bit ironic that he shared his first kiss with Botan. A girl he was supposed to hate.

He darted his tongue out, and poked it at her bottom lip. Feeling her body stiffen at the contact, Kurama assumed for a moment she was scared. But then, he felt her mouth part slightly, and he swiftly drove his tongue into her wet cavern. She moaned at the feel of the wet appendage stroking against hers, the sound causing his body to turn rigid.

Sort of odd that she was able to elicit such a violent reaction from him.

Her hands found his chest, traveling upwards to his hard biceps, then downwards to his abs. He almost lost his breath.

What was the girl doing...?

 _Shit._

Damn her.

. . .

Botan was dumbfounded and surprisingly, disappointed when Kurama abruptly pulled apart. Hands on her shoulders, he pushed her gently off of him. There was a feral look in his emerald eyes, turning the bright color into a smothering dark forest green. She gulped.

"Why did you stop?" she asked, voice soft and timid.

He shook his head in return, causing the girl to frown in confusion at his answer. He placed his hands on top of hers, before slowly removing them from his chest. "Don't do that," he whispered, voice ragged and... husky?

Botan's frown visibly deepened, and she watched as the boy turned around, back facing her. "Come on, I need some clothes. It's freezing just being in a towel, you know," he spoke casually, as if nothing happened.

Her eyes flared in anger. "What? Why?" she screeched.

"Like I said, it's freezing-"

"That's not what I meant!" Botan roared furiously. She received a surprised look from Kurama as he whipped his head around to fix his gaze on her. She took a few deep, calming breaths and after she calmed down, well, a little, she stared at him straight in the eyes.

"Why is it that you can touch me, but I can't touch you?" she asked before she could stop herself.

Kurama was silent, but there was something in his eyes; something she couldn't quite put her finger on. She waited for an answer, but none came, and after Kurama started to stroll out the bathroom, pulling her along, she expelled a loud and exasperated sigh.

"Come on, Kurama!" she practically cried. "How could you just act like nothing happened? And if you're going to be like this, why did you do it? If you're so disgusted by me having my _dirty_ hands all over your chest, then why did you kiss me!" she went on, and sounded genuinely hurt, surprising even herself.

Kurama couldn't take it anymore. He whipped around, startling Botan when he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. She opened her mouth to say more, but he wouldn't let her.

"That"s not it," he said, and Botan could've sworn she heard a growl.

He looked into her eyes, his gaze smothering, as if he was trying to stare into her soul. But then, he quickly darted his eyes somewhere else, focusing his gaze on the floor instead of her face now. His bangs covered his eyes, as he took a deep breath.

"Fuck, Botan," he whispered, voice harsh, but low and almost inaudible. "I didn't want to lose control, that's why I _stopped_ ," he continued, more to himself than to her. She had no idea how much effect she had on him now.

Botan was surprised by his answer. Her mouth hung open, and her eyes widened in saucers. But there was a slight tint of pink on her now warming cheeks.

What?

She could hardly believe her ears.

Without saying anything else to her, Kurama turned to continue his steps towards the bedroom, a dumbfounded and embarrassed Botan following closely behind him.

* * *

"You're not going to shower?" Kurama questioned as he wrapped his towel around his head. He rubbed it, attempting to dry off his hair. "Who was the one who told me that normal people shower when they get return from school or work?"

"Who?" came Botan's stupid response. She had been busy thinking about Kurama's words to realize he had been talking to her.

The redhead rolled his eyes. "Who knows?" he sarcastically responded.

It took the girl a few moments to understand what he meant. She didn't bother to acknowledge his sardonic remark, and instead, "I... think I'll take the shower later," she muttered.

He quirked one eyebrow at her in question. "What happened to the Botan who said she doesn't like to be sweaty?" he joked, despite the serious expression on his face.

"Uh... no reason. I just feel kinda lazy all of a sudden," she lied.

Truth be told, she was kind of nervous after everything that occurred in the bathroom and was still too stunned by his earlier words. The redhead didn't seem to think it was a big deal though, as he went on talking to her casually. But anyway, right now she just felt like not taking a bath, to avoid more embarrassing and awkward situations.

Kurama didn't buy her lie. "Yeah, right," he mumbled under his breath. "I'm not going to take advantage of you, if that's what you're worried about."

Botan blushed beet red at his words. Did he have to be so blunt like that?

He flopped down to the bed, before raising his head to fix his gaze on her. "Don't tell me you're scared of me now?" he inquired, with a touch of mischief an amusement in his voice. A playful grin tugged at his lips.

Her blush deepened. "Shut up, Kurama. Who could blame me after that stunt you pulled in the bathroom?" she shot back, half irritated and half embarrassed. "What made you do that anyway?"

She paused. "Did I charm you or something?" she went on monotously, though she doubted that was true.

Kurama visibly stiffened, her words striking him as the truth. But, she didn't need to know that. He cleared his throat, averted his gaze elsewhere but her face, and ignored the last part she said. "I wouldn't be complaining. You seemed to be enjoying it," he mumbled to himself, more than to her, but the girl heard him quite clearly.

She grabbed a pillow, and threw it at his face. "I did not!" she stubbornly denied in an indignant voice, turning her nose up in the air haughtily. "As if I would."

"Then why did you kiss me back?" he asked as a matter of factly.

The girl was unresponsive, causing him to look up at her with a satisfied smirk. "Tricky question, huh?" he teasingly stated.

"Shut up, Kurama," she muttered for the second time that day.

The redhead opened his mouth, making to say something but didn't manage when another pillow hit him directly in the face.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.**

 **Stuck With You**

 **Summary: AU, Kurama Minamino and Botan Fukuyama are sworn enemies. What happens when one day, they are handcuffed together and they don't have the key? Will they be able to put aside their differences and form a frienship… or something more?**

 **Chapter 10**

"I like your shampoo," Botan said all of a sudden, as she let Kurama pull her along towards the kitchen. She watched as the redhead began to look inside the drawers for food, waiting for an answer to come.

"Yeah? Well, it _does_ have a nice scent," Kurama responded, a hand reaching inside a drawer to pull out a box of cereals. "Then again, I guess that's why I always smell good," he added, an arrogant smirk tugging at his lips.

The girl rolled her eyes at his last statement, and decided against acknowledging it. She had borrowed Kurama's rose-scent shampoo from her bath earlier (which she took, fortunately, with peace and comfort as nothing happened), and had decided she enjoyed the scent. She raised her right sleeve and brought it to her nose, taking a whiff of the magnificent smell.

"Come on, Botan, you know it's true," Kurama prodded with a lopsided grin attached to his face, when she refused to answer.

She heaved a sigh, and shook her head in a disapproving manner. "You know, Kurama, one thing that I hate the most about you is that you're vain. You like to brag about yourself," she muttered under her breath.

He shrugged, the grin on his lips widening. "Can't help if it's true," he replied casually. Pulling out two bowls; one red, and the other blue, Kurama shook the box of cereals, the contents coming out and falling inside the bowls.

Botan started to make puking sounds, which only served to amuse him. He let out a laugh as the girl rolled her eyes playfully at him. "You really are vain," she merely stated, before grabbing the red bowl.

"Hey, that's rude, I went through all the trouble to look for food and even put it inside a bowl for you, and you just grab it, without saying thank you," he said, albeit the tone he used was not displeasure, and on the contrary, Botan could hear the playfulness in his voice.

She rolled her eyes once again; she'd been doing that a lot lately whenever she was around him. "Well then, I guess that's one of the reasons you don't like me," she retorted jokingly, and procceeded to tug at the handcuffs. Kurama got the message, grabbing his blue bowl, and strolling with her towards the dining table.

The corners of his lips curved upwards into a smirk. Taking a seat at the table, Kurama finally replied after a while, "Not really."

Botan pulled back a chair, and took a seat next to him.

He grabbed a silver spoon that was in a small cup where he kept all the spoons and forks, seated neatly at the centre of the table. His smirk visibly widened when the girl let out an 'Ow!', as she had not expected his actions.

"Give me a warning beforehand, will ya?" she told him grudgingly, and rubbed her arm. She was thankful it didn't come off. Nonetheless, she followed his actions, extending a hand out to retrieve a spoon.

A masculine fit of laughter suddenly sounded in the air, causing her eyebrow to twitch.

She turned to look at Kurama with an irritated expression crossing her soft features. "Laugh all you want, Kurama. I'll get my revenge later." She paused, a smirk beginning to form on her lips. "We have plenty of time, after all, thanks to these stupid handcuffs."

"Good luck with that," he told her, his voice challenging. Kurama opened the fridge, which was coincidentally and conveniently, close to where he was sitting. He took out the milk, and poured it inside his bowl. He then offered it to the girl, who harshly tug it out of his grasp, her actions rewarding her with another laugh in return.

"You look pretty good in that," he suddenly annouced, voice slightly muffled as the spoon entered his mouth, and he munched on the food.

Botan arched her eyebrow questioningly at him, wondering what he meant, and Kurama hinted by traveling his eyes downwards to her body. Her mouth formed an 'o' in understanding, and she bent her head down to scrutinize herself. Kurama's bright blue shirt barely fit (then again, how would they); it was loose around her shoulders, and reached her knees. She wore nothing but her underwear underneath the clothing, but she didn't worry herself much about it, assuming the redhead wouldn't be able to see her undergarments anyway.

"What's with the sudden compliment?" she asked, confusion evident on her features, as she furrowed her brows.

Kurama lightly shrugged his right shoulder in response. "Just pointing it out," he said as a matter of factly.

Botan blinked at him. Once. Twice. Thrice. He had _never_ praised her before, and even if he did, he usually never meant any of it, his words always dripping with annoying sarcasm. So, it was surprising he suddenly had a change of behavior.

"You're weird," she replied after a while, before starting to eat her cereals. "But, I admit I like it better when you're like this than your usual self," she went on, a smile curving at the corners of her pink lips.

"Well, don't get used to it," he merely said back, but there was a subtle grin on his face. He hadn't expected to feel joy at Botan expressing that she liked him, but he kind of did.

"I won't. It's just so weird," she stated bluntly, voice monotous.

Kurama laughed.

* * *

"How do you even…" Botan's voice trailed off as she pressed a few buttons on the game controls, trying to understand how it worked. She failed miserably however, as the zombie in the glass screen in front of her managed to devour the person she was playing.

After they ate, Botan had complained she was bored and asked if there was anything to do in his house. Kurama, after getting tired of her constant ramblings, finally decided to let her play a game. The redhead had sat beside her, with a book in his hands (as usual), during the whole 'ordeal'.

She pulled an annoyed face. "I hate this game," she uttered under her breath, as the words 'You are Dead' was displayed on the screen.

"Well, the game's kind of famous anyway, and it's fun to play it," Kurama told her, in a matter of factly way. He watched as the girl rewinded the game from where she left off, breaking into an amused grin when she managed to 'die'. _Again_. "But, _obviously_ , you're not good at this."

Amethyst eyes rolled at his words. Slightly offended, Botan put down the controls, refusing to play anymore and turned her nose up in the air haughtily. "I don't see why you get to act so smug. Are you any better than I am?" she asked, closing her eyes as a smirk found its way to her lips.

"I am," Kurama unceremoniously replied, causing the girl to peek one eye open to look at him. He sported an arrogant and almost taunting smirk on his features, which served to somewhat annoy her.

" _Oh_?" Botan sounded off, voice dripping with irritation, "Well then, if you're such a _professional_ at playing this stupid game, then why don't _you_ do it instead?" she said with a huff, and abruptly threw the controls towards him. It felled unceremoniously into his lap, and the redhead turned his gaze downwards to peer at it.

"Oh, that's cute," he told her sarcastically. Rolling his eyes, Kurama closed his book and procceeded to grab the game controls. "Plus, I never said I was a professional. You're making that up and slandering me," he went on accusingly.

"Whatever," Botan responded dryly. "Just play the fucking game."

Kurama didn't acknowledge her, but rolled his eyes once again, and did as he was told. He resumed the game to where the character died, fingers moving swiftly as they pressed at the game controls' buttons. A few moments passed, and he'd instantly won the game.

Botan's jaws dropped. He had killed the zombie that _she_ couldn't! Half amazed, but also half embarrassed, the girl realized she underestimated him. She instantly peered at the redhead, expecting to see an annoying quirk of his lips. True enough, there was a smug grin on his face, as he stared back at her.

She pursed her lips.

"Not bad…" she mumbled, and fixed her gaze elsewhere, irritation creeping up her skin. She couldn't believe he just proved her wrong, but she was nowhere near willing to admit that he was, in fact, _very_ skilled.

"Not bad?" Kurama echoed incredulously. His brows creased, before disappearing as soon as it had appeared. Another arrogant smirk tugged at the corners of his lips. "You're just jealous, you don't mean that."

"When I said 'not bad', I meant it!" Botan retorted angrily, eyes glaring heatedly at the redhead. "Besides, I'm not jealous," she denied stubbornly, voice slightly calmer now, despite the underlying annoyance lying dormant in the tone she used.

"Yes, you are," he stated bluntly.

Botan went up to make a smart remark, only to be cut short, when Kurama suddenly stood up from his sitting position on the floor. The action resulted to Botan's wrist being tugged almost painfully, so the girl stood up as well.

"Where are we going?" Botan inquired. She wanted to use 'you', as she had no intention to go somewhere else, but realizing she was going to be dragged by the redhead anyway, she decided to use a 'we' instead. The frown that had found its way to her forehead deepened slightly when he closed the game, the screen turning black.

After a while, Kurama finally responded, "I need to go to the bathroom," with a toothy grin attached to his face. He didn't seem awkward or embarrassed to admit it, and in fact, for some weird reason, seemed oddly pleased.

Botan inwardly pondered to herself if the handcuffs situation had finally drove him to insanity.

She let out a loud an exasperated groan, and slapped a hand to her face. Shaking her head, Botan heaved a deep sigh. "You _can't_ be serious," she mumbled, voice slightly muffled in her hand. She parted her fingers slightly, and peeked through the gap. "Are you?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I'm only human, B, so a 'nature's call' is actually normal, and pretty common." He grinned, and the girl didn't manage to notice it had been the first time he'd called her 'B', as she was too 'preoccupied' with glaring at him. "Just in case you don't know it yet," he added, voice teasing.

Botan removed her hand from her face.

"Ha-ha," she faked a laugh. "Very funny."

A pause. "You don't expect me to go with you, do you?" she finally questioned. She gave the boy an incredulous stare.

He arched an eyebrow at her. "Well, it's not like you have a choice, now do you?" Another grin. "Besides, I accompanied you to the toilet earlier today at the school, so you ought to do the same thing. You owe me one, after all," he stated, almost too teasingly, much to Botan's discomfort.

She glared daggers at him, as Kurama started to laugh, her eyes threatening to burn a deep hole through his head. But, she didn't say anything and merely let him did as he wanted, as he tugged at the chains connecting their wrists together, and procceeded to drag her towards where she assumed was the toilet.

Blood rushed to her cheeks, tinting her cheeks in a deep shade of red. She didn't want to do this, it was so embarrassing! But, she _had_ no choice, as they were still stuck with the handcuffs. Plus… what he said before was actually kind of true.

The blush deepened.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.**

 **Stuck With You**

 **Summary: AU, Kurama Minamino and Botan Fukuyama are sworn enemies. What happens when one day, they are handcuffed together and they don't have the key? Will they be able to put aside their differences and form a frienship… or something more?**

 **Chapter 11**

"Would you please hurry up?" Botan's voice dripped with half sarcasm and half feigned politeness. She heatedly stared at Kurama's back, the redhead in question sauntering calmly inside the bathroom even as she protested.

"Would you please be patient?" Kurama shot back, and merely tugged at her wrist forcefully whenever the girl suddenly stopped in her tracks. "Honestly, you seriously don't know how to be grateful. In case you've forgotten, I went with you to the toilet when you had to go, and not to mention, it was the _girls_ '," he reminded her, and emphasized for effect.

Her mouth formed a pout as she realized the truth behind his words. Well, he _did_ do all that for her, it would hardly seem fair if she didn't do the same... Heaving a sigh of defeat, she finally relented.

"Okay."

Kurama couldn't help but smile as the girl complied, at last. "Good," he said back, voice somewhat relieved. He didn't want to have to argue with her the entire time they would be in the bathroom.

His hand reached upwards to the waistband of his pants so he could pull them down, but the redhead paused in his movements when he realized Botan was still looking at him. He lifted his gaze to peer at her, and gave the staring girl a questioning raise of his eyebrow.

"Are you going to turn around or are you going to watch me all day?" He smirked, before teasingly adding, "Seriously, Botan, you are _freaky_."

The girl in question blushed beet red in embarrassment. Her jaws dropped, before closing almost instantly. She shot a death glare his way, and reached for a soap that was conveniently near to her. She grabbed it in her hands, and abruptly threw it at the redhead, blush darkening and glare intensifying when he managed to catch it instead.

"Shut up, Kurama and just..." she cut herself short, lest she'd embarrassed herself even more. She rolled her eyes in annoyance, whilst letting out an exasperated groan and quickly whipped around, her back facing him.

Kurama's laughter reached her ears, and the sound only succeeded in making her blush redden.

"Alright, alright," he said, voice tinted with slight amusement, and mirth dancing in his emerald eyes. Seriously, the girl had one of the most funniest reactions he'd ever seen.

He shook his head, but a small smile remained at the corners of his mouth. He started to unzip his pants, and procceeded to remove the material.

Botan heard some shuffling, followed by the sound of something falling on the cold floor and running water, signalling that Kurama had turned on the faucet. She gulped, trying to control her thoughts. She waited for a moment, before she felt Kurama tug at her hand. She pondered what he was doing, and went up to ask, only to trail off when she realized something.

Eyes widening in terror, face turning as red as a tomato, Botan screamed. The ear-piercing shriek sounded throughout the entire house, and before Kurama could ask her what was wrong, she extended an arm out... and in a second, another sound of skin slapping against skin echoed in the bathroom.

* * *

"Why did you use to have your _cuffed_ hand to wash..." Botan trailed off, as she and Kurama strolled towards the bedroom. She _really_ needed to sit on a bed right now.

They had just gone back from their 'trip' to the bathroom, so Kurama could... uh, finish his 'business'. Unfortunately, some time around the time they were in there, Kurama had tugged at his cuffed hand, causing Botan to... ahem, touch _something_.

Blood immediately rushed to her cheeks, her face turning bright red, as she thought of what it could be. What went through her head was less than decent though, and try as she might, she couldn't get the dirty thoughts out of her mind.

"Well, excuse _you_ ," Kurama snorted, and rolled his eyes in annoyance. "But in case you haven't noticed, my cuffed hand is my _left_ hand which I use to wash my... uh, never mind." Flustered at what he was just about to say, Kurama decided to say something else, "You didn't have to bitch-slap the effing hell out of me, you know."

"But, I could've-! Could've touched _your_..."

"Don't say it," he swiftly cut her short, the red shade coloring his cheeks darkening to a point he thought he would faint with all the blood rushing to his face, "Don't _ever_ say it."

"I wasn't planning to," the girl lied, blushing hotly when she realized she actually _would've_ if he hadn't stopped her. It wouldn't be on purpose, of course.

"Besides, what do you expect me to do? Use my right hand? The one I use to eat food? Ugh. No. Do you have any idea what that could do to me?" the redhead started to complain once he felt the heat from his cheeks slowly but gradually fading away.

"Er, no," she replied nervously, a sheepish giggle building in her chest, and escaping her lips.

Kurama shook his head, but there was a small smile playing at the corners of his lips. "Let's stop talking about this before the both of us turn redder than my red hair," he said teasingly, laughing when, contrary to his words, Botan's blush deepened.

"S-shut up, Kurama!" She tried to sound indignant, but cursed herself when her words came out as a stutter instead.

Kurama's fit of laughter didn't subside, and only grew louder as she started to throw insults his way: he couldn't help it; she was _too_ cute. For a moment, he paused, pondered if he really just conjured up that thought in his head, only to laugh again when the girl accidentally bit the tip of her tongue.

"Ow..." she mumbled, mouth parted slightly. Her actions only served to make the redhead's laughter to turn up a notch.

Half embarrassed and half annoyed, Botan's blush deepened and she made to shut him up. She resulted the only way she knew how, and instantly clasped her hands over his mouth, now standing on her toes.

Fortunately, Kurama's laughter disappeared into thin air, once her palms touched his warm lips. The unexpected action somehow caught him off guard, heart beating fast and... butterflies appearing in his stomach. He tried to brush off the feeling, but to no avail when Botan gave him a smug smirk, the corners of her lips quirked up in an almost tempting way.

"What, cat got your tongue?" she teased, a laugh erupting from her throat. But, it subsided as soon as it came, as she suddenly felt something wet running up her palm.

Kurama couldn't help himself, tongue darting up to lick at the skin of her palm. The girl jumped at the feel, her body turning into a rigid line. A familiar blush found its way to her charming features, and she quickly removed her hands from their position on his face, his less than appropriate action sending shivers down her spine.

Now, it was Kurama's turn to smirk, lips curling up in a way when he knew he was being playful. He watched as the girl's mouth opened and closed, as if she had something to say, but couldn't quite utter out the words.

Somewhat pleased by her adorable reaction, Kurama's smirk broadened, and he leaned in, until their lips were only an inch from each other.

"What, cat got _your_ tongue?" he stole her words, hot breath fanning over her pink lips. Botan's face impossibly turned redder, and the color didn't fade away from her cheeks, even as Kurama pulled away.

"I'll take that as a yes," he said, another laugh escaping him. He turned around, made to continue on their way to his room, and tugged gently at the handcuffs, dragging a still stunned Botan along.

"I hate you," Botan told him, after a moment of silence, _and_ after she had calmed down a little.

A soft smile surprisingly tugged at Kurama's lips, and the redhead gave her a somewhat loving stare.

"You know you don't," he stated all too knowingly, voice low and gentle. His hand reached closer, until he felt the slightest brush of the girl's hand, and he captured it, intertwining their fingers. Botan didn't resist or pull away.

She was silent: probably because she knew he was right.

* * *

Botan felled on the bed, her back bouncing a little as she flopped down unceremoniously on the comfortable sheets. She took in their scent, and made a silent note on how they smelled like roses: suspiciously like Kurama. She blushed, hoping that maybe the owner of the room hadn't noticed the display. Peering over at the redhead, Botan inwardly heaved a sigh of relief when she realized he was too busy staring outside the window to notice.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Kurama's voice reached the girl's ears, bringing her out of her reverie and back to reality.

"Huh?" came her stupid answer. She was clueless as to what he was referring to, brows furrowing and eyes blinking at him in confusion.

Her blank stare didn't go unnoticed by Kurama, and he tilted his head slightly at the window, gesturing her to look, before fixing his stare back on something outside.

She blinked a few times, before following his gaze. Finally realizing what he meant, Botan's eyes widened in surprise, and her mouth parted open slightly in amazement. Kurama's room wasn't much; all it had was a few study books and novels, and vases of plants laid here and there. But it was bigger than the one she had at home, and had huge windows. They made the sky look more of a breathtaking sight than it normally would.

"Wow..." she mumbled, before her face brightened, and she procceeded to stand up from the bed. Walking over towards the window, Botan excitedly opened it, ignoring the somewhat surprised look Kurama gave her.

"It's so beautiful!" she gushed, jumped up and down and turned to peer her gaze at the redhead. All of a sudden, she captured his hand into hers, and promptly dragged him closer. "Look, Kurama! It's _so_ beautiful!" she went on, a girlish giggle escaping her, face sporting an excited expression only a child could pull.

Kurama's surprise soon died down, a laughter erupting from his throat at the girl's childish demeanor. The sound slowly subsided, and the corners of his mouth subconsciously curled upwards into a smile as he stared at her. Big, toothy grin, eyes shining brightly with what he could assume was child-like joy...

Really, she _was_ childish: getting over excited over something so little.

Childish, but cute...

"Oh my gosh! The stars are so pretty, Kurama!" Botan squealed, one finger pointing at the bright lights coloring the black sky. "Aren't they?"

"Yes," Kurama replied absent-mindedly, although his gaze was nowhere near focused on the stars, but the blue-haired girl instead. He stared lovingly at her, and resisted the urge to run his fingers on the soft skin of her cheeks and through her silk-like hair. "Very pretty indeed."

Fortunately, Botan didn't notice that he was referring to her.

. . .

"Botan," Kurama called, gaining her intention. She turned to look at him and acknowleged him with a hum. It had been about fifteen minutes or so of them staring at the sky, and he was getting rather drowsy.

"Do you want to go to sleep?" he inquired softly, a smile crossing his handsome features. "Or do you want to keep fangirling over the stars?" he playfully added.

Botan's face flushed red almost immediately. "N-No!" she stuttered, embarrassed by his words. She didn't realize she was acting in such a way: she gets over excited sometimes when she seems something beautiful.

Kurama let out a chuckle as the girl promptly closed the window, the glassy surface nearly breaking under the brute force she used. "Hey, no need to be so furious, I'm just kidding," he went on teasingly, and didn't even try to resist as she dragged him towards the bed.

Botan didn't say anything in response, and merely pushed him on the bed. The redhead couldn't help but laugh, "This is sexual harrassment," he joked, a smirk playing at his lips.

"S-shut up, Kurama!" she roared, throwing a pillow to his face. "Just go to sleep!"

"Don't you want to join me?" he asked, voice gentle and inviting, as he removed the puffy pillow from his face. The smirk was gone now, replaced by a heart-stopping smile.

A pause.

"I guess I do deserve a rest," she complied after a while.

Fidgeting a little before she flopped down on the bed also, Botan grabbed the body pillow she and Kurama had used the night before to block their bodies from getting too close when they slept. She didn't even manage to put it on the bed, when a hand suddenly grabbed her wrist, stopping her from doing so.

"Leave it," he told her, and before she could react, tugged it out of her grasp and kicked it until it landed at the far end of the room.

Botan stared at the pillow, eyes wide and mouth agape. She then peered at him, with a bewildered expression on her features. "But why?"

"Just for tonight," he said, instead of answering. His gaze was serious as he stared into her eyes, a hand reaching out to squeeze hers ever so gently. "Alright."

A blush found its way to her face: she suddenly felt nervous. At the look he gave her, and the simple touch, Botan couldn't help but agree.

"Alright."

He smiled. "That's a good girl."

The duo went and made themselves comfortable. Kurama laid on the left side, whilst Botan was lying on the right, and they had their backs facing each other.

Botan bit her lower lip; her heart was thumping so loudly in her chest that she thought it would burst, and her face was so red she could've sworn it was in the same shade of a tomato. An idea suddenly coursed in her mind, which served to make the blush deepen. Should she...? No, she couldn't! Then again, they'd done it a few times already... Plus, she had a nagging feeling she wouldn't be able to sleep if she didn't do it.

She took a deep breath, and after a hesitant moment, "Kurama," she called, his name passing her lips in a soft whisper.

"Hm?"

"Can you turn around for a sec?"

"Huh? Why?"

"Just shut up and do it."

"... Okay..." Kurama mumbled, brows forming a frown of bewilderment. He turned until he was facing her, and made to ask her what she wanted... but whatever he had to say was immediately cut short, as the girl abruptly slammed her lips on his.

His body stiffened: the kiss sending delicious shivers down his spine. He moved his lips to deepen the lip to lip contact, but he didn't manage to when she suddenly broke it off. The kiss had been brief; chaste and feather-like.

"What...?" he trailed off, trying to ignore the feeling of rejection and dissapointment that was slowly creeping up his skin.

"That was a good night kiss," she merely stated, and Kurama would've thought it wasn't such a big deal to her because of the blunt tone in her voice, if it weren't for the pink tint coloring her cheeks. He stared at her, but the girl whipped around, now facing the wall.

"Good night," she told him, closed her eyes and tried to slow down the fast beating of her heart. _God,_ she couldn't believe she just did that... but... A smile subconsciously formed itself on her pink lips: it felt good...

Kurama continued to stare at her back, and saw that it was heaving up and down, implying that Botan had gone into a deep slumber. What was that? What was that just now? Did she really just...

A blush.

That was the first kiss she ever initiated.

"Good night," he whispered, softly tucking a strand of her hand behind her ear. And he bent down to give her a small peck on the cheek, warm lips brushing briefly against her smooth skin.

 _This is_ **my** _good night kiss._


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.**

 **Stuck With You**

 **Summary: AU, Kurama Minamino and Botan Fukuyama are sworn enemies. What happens when one day, they are handcuffed together and they don't have the key? Will they be able to put aside their differences and form a frienship… or something more?**

 **Chapter 12**

"I hope you don't have to 'go' while we're at school today," Kurama spoke, voice teasing as he and Botan sauntered along the hallway, on their way to class. "I mean, I don't want to go to the girls' toilet again..."

Botan rolled her eyes the way she did when she though he said something stupid or annoying. But she had a smile attached to her lips, as she said, "Oh, shut up, Kurama," and playfully punched the redhead at the shoulder.

He feigned hurt, rubbing his shoulder that was in apparently in 'pain' and faked a wince. "Ouch."

A giggle erupted from Botan's throat, the pleasant sound causing a toothy grin to appear on Kurama's face. For some reason, he felt somewhat pleased that he managed to amuse her.

"Come on, Kurama. I know it doesn't really hurt," she said all too knowingly, the girlish sound of her giggles fading into thin air. " _That_ couldn't possibly had hurt your strong biceps," she went on before she could stop herself. For a moment, she laughed... only to stop when she realized what she just said.

Her eyes widened in surprise and she swiftly slapped a hand to her mouth. Shit, she didn't mean to say that out loud! She nervously peered at Kurama from the corner of her eyes, and could see that he was sporting a smirk, mischief dancing in his eyes as he stared at her.

A pink colour began to tint her cheeks.

"Ha!" he roared in victory, pointing a finger accusingly her way. "So you admit I _am_ attractive!"

"No! I, uh, I..."

Kurama's smirk widened when the girl stuttered, the light pink on her face turning bright crimson. "You what?" he teased, and was about to lean closer to embarrass her even more, only to stop mid way when he realized something.

"Hey hey, what's that?"

"I don't know, but it looks kinda interesting!"

"Aww, I wanna go!"

"Yeah, but you don't have a boyfriend to go with!"

"Who said I needed a boyfriend?"

Laughter.

He blinked as he stared at the crowd in front of them, standing at the notice board blocking their way to class. Kurama soon realized that the whole hallway was packed, leaving no room for them to slip between them. He expelled a deep sigh, and tried to figure out another route to their classroom. First period was with their history teacher, Genkai-sensei, and he did _not_ want to be the object of the old lady's wrath anytime soon.

Botan, on the other hand, couldn't help but feel glad when she realized the redhead's attention was no longer on her. Thank god! She wouldn't know what to do if he had continued: the boy was like a sly fox, pulling a dangerous stunt here and then whenever she least expected it.

She wondered why there was so many students at the notice board. Usually, there was almost nothing interesting enough to draw their intention. Curious, she tugged at Kurama's cuffed wrist, cutting his musings short.

He turned to look at her, and regarded her with a hum of acknowledgement. The girl merely tilted her head at the crowd in response.

"What do you think is going on?" she inquired in curiousity, more to herself than to him.

Kurama was silent for a moment, before he fixed his gaze on the crowd. He pulled an irritated expression. "Your guess is as good as mine."

"We should go and find out," Botan suddenly said, and he made to say 'no': he had no time for this. But he didn't even manage to get a word out when she abruptly started to walk over to the crowd, therefore, dragging him with her.

Kurama could've stopped her if he wanted to, as he was definitely stronger. But, realizing that the girl would stop at nothing to satisfy her curiousity, he heaved a sigh of defeat and just went along, albeit reluctantly.

"Great..." he grumbled grudgingly under his breath: try as he might, he couldn't see what was on the board. There was too many people blocking his view, which served to annoy him even more.

"Can you see?" Botan asked him. She stood up on her tip toes, trying to at least peek at whatever had caught everyone's interest. Her efforts were fruitless however, as she couldn't see much other than their heads.

"I don't know. Can _you_?" Kurama shot back, despite knowing there was no way she could. If _he_ couldn't see, how could she? He was far taller than her, and even he was having problems trying to figure out what was written on the board.

"Aw, that sucks," she whined, a pout beginning to form on her lips. The annoyed tone in Kurama's voice went unnoticed by her.

The redhead felt his rising irritation slowly fading away, as he stared at her face. Goddamn it, why did she have to pout? Did she not know how cute she looked? Did she not know what... **effect** she had on him?

He shook his head as the familiar yet confusing feelings started to take residence in his heart. He didn't have time to figure out what they meant... despite how important they seemed.

But, he couldn't deny that seeing the adorable expression on Botan's charming features was all it took to drive any negative emotions away.

"Let's just ask someone," he offered in a soft voice, the agitated look that had been on his face previously was now gone, replaced by a smile.

"Yeah, but who? I mean, they're all too..."

As if on cue, a familiar voice reached their ears, cutting off Botan's sentence. The duo turned to look at the owner, relieved expressions crossing their faces as what greeted their sight was a familiar figure.

"Hey, you guys! What are you doing here?" Keiko asked, whilst pulling a reluctant Yusuke along with her. Obviously, he was about to be dragged somewhere by his girlfriend.

"Hi, Keiko!" Botan greeted back with a warm smile. She seemed to notice the glare a certain delinquent sent the brunette's way. "So what are you forcing Yusuke to do now?" she joked, a laugh escaping her.

A hand reached out to poke playfully at his nose, only to be slapped away roughly by Yusuke himself. Botan was already used to this, and started to giggle uncontrollably when the heated stare he'd given Keiko was now directed at her.

"Nah, it's nothing. It's just that he... uh, made some trouble with Iwamoto-sensei; so now he's supposed to see him. As usual, Yusuke being Yusuke, he didn't want to go, and now I'm forced to drag him along," Keiko explained. She tugged when the delinquent tried to escape from her grasp, earning a grumble that sounded suspiciously among the lines of "evil clutches"...

"Oh." Botan paused, before peering over at Yusuke. "What did you do?"

"I burnt his wallet," Yusuke replied monotously, as if it was normal for a student to do such a thing. The other three merely laughed however: they were too used to his antics by now. Besides, god knew how much he loathed Iwamoto-sensei.

"Break a leg," Kurama said, a smirk tugging at his lips.

"Yeah, sure. I'll break Iwamoto's."

"Oh, Yusuke..." Keiko shook her head at her boyfriend's words. Seriously... Wouldn't doing that _worsen_ his already difficult predicament? She understood Yusuke's behavior, but she didn't want anything to happen to him. Last time he was in trouble almost caused him expulsion.

"You shouldn't. Keiko's worried sick about you," Botan reprimanded the black haired boy. She seemed to notice the concern on the brunette's face.

Yusuke's glare faded into thin air, replaced with a frown. He turned to look at his girlfriend, who blushed beet red in embarrassment at his stare.

"Botan!"

"What? It's true!" the girl in question stated bluntly.

Keiko shook her head once again. Honestly, if Botan wasn't her best friend...

"Anyways, before you guys go, we've got something to ask," the blue haired girl spoke, before tilting her head to the crowd. "What's the occasion?" she inquired as she averted her eyes towards her friends again.

"Oh. That." Keiko's face brightened up in a way only a girl would. "That's nothing... just a dance. Happening. Tomorrow. Night!" she explained, her voice raising up a notch at every word, the excitement getting the better of her.

"A dance?" Kurama echoed. His brows creased in confusion. "We didn't hear anything about a dance... I mean, wouldn't the teachers have notified us earlier?"

The brunette's smile felled, and then, she shrugged her shoulders in a nonchalant way. Truthfully, she didn't care much. It was a dance, for god's sake!

"No clue."

"Oh, that would be fun!" Botan gushed girlishly.

Keiko's smile returned. "I know, right!"

"I so wanna goooo!"

"Me too!"

The two girls started to jump up and down in excitement, oblivious to Yusuke's exasperated stare and Kurama's sweatdrop.

"Seriously. Girls..." the former mumbled under his breath, and shook his head. He never could understand why females would get excited over small things like that. He would never go.

"Anyway, Yusuke. Of course, you're coming with me to the dance!" Keiko warned as soon as she and Botan had stopped gushing. He always ditched her, he was _not_ going to do the same thing again.

A chill went down Yusuke's spine. On second thought, maybe he should. The dangerous edge in Keiko's voice caused his face to lose its color.

"Okay..." he reluctantly replied.

Fortunately, his girlfriend gave him a bright and cheerful smile, the glare now gone from her features. The delinquent inwardly sighed in relief.

"Who are you going with, B?" the brunette questioned, leaning in closer to the other girl.

Botan pursed her lips, and tilted her head to the side, as she thought it over. "I don't know..." she answered in a low voice when she realized no one came to mind: except a certain redhead.

She sneaked a peek at Kurama, a blush appearing on her cheeks at the thought of him going with her to the dance. He seemed to notice her eyes on him, and arched an eyebrow in question her way. The girl responded by quickly avoiding his gaze.

But then again, Kurama wasn't the type of guy who liked attending those sort of things.

She inwardly heaved a sigh of disappointment, but forced a smile on her face as she spoke, "Maybe someone will ask me," with a hopeful edge in her voice. Her words earned a deep frown from Kurama in return.

"Oh, yeah!" Keiko punched a fist to her palm, as if she just remembered something. "Come to think of it, I think I overheard Touya saying that Shishi's gonna ask you," she squealed.

"Shishi?" Kurama repeated, the crease on his forehead deepening at the name. He knew the boy had his eyes set on Botan over a year already, but every effort he did to woo her resulted in nothing. It was obvious the girl didn't reciprocate his feelings. In spite of the fact however, Kurama couldn't help the pang of jealousy that stabbed at his heart.

"Yeah. You know he always had a thing for our Botan here." Keiko nudged blue hair girl teasingly by the elbow to emphasize her point.

"Hm. I suppose," Kurama replied, voice calm and even, but Botan could somehow sense the underlying anger underneath.

She cast him a worried glance: what got into him all of a sudden? She couldn't help but ponder in concern. Parting her mouth, Botan made to ask him what was wrong, only to be rudely interrupted by Yusuke.

"Who the fuck gives a shit about Shishi? We all know that guy's a fricking playboy. Plus, Kurama and Botan are still handcuffed together! How do you expect Botan to go with Shishi when they're like that?" the delinquent roared incredulously, pointing a finger at the duo for emphasis.

Kurama's eyes widened as the realization hit him like a ton of bricks. That's right! Shishi wouldn't be able to go with her... He heaved a sigh of relief: thank god. He didn't have to see them together.

A pause.

Wait, did that thought really just cross his mind? Did Botan mean that much to him?

He was confused.

"Oh, yeah. I forgot! You're right, Yusuke." Keiko's mouth formed an 'o' in understanding.

The boy in question rolled his eyes. "And to think you're supposed to be the smartass..." he mumbled, his voice almost inaudible. Fortunately for him, his words went unnoticed by his girlfriend who was too busy peering at her wrist watch to have heard him.

"Anyway, we have to go before Iwamoto-sensei throws a fit," the brunette informed, before lifting her gaze to give her two friends a smile. "I guess we'll see you guys in class, okay?" she stated, more than asked.

Botan playfully saluted. "Yes, sir!" she joked, a fit of laughter erupting from her throat and Keiko soon joined her.

"Well, see you," Keiko said over her shoulder, as she started to stroll off, dragging Yusuke with her. She waved the other two good bye.

Botan waved back. "Okay!"

* * *

"They seemed to be getting along pretty well," Yusuke spoke as they made their way to Iwamoto-sensei's office.

Keiko raised an eyebrow. "How can you tell?"

"A gut feeling... I mean, usually they have these annoyed looks on their faces whenever they are around each other, but today..."

"... feels kind of different?" she finished for him, the delinquent nodded his head in agreement. "Well, I suppose I can agree with you."

"Maybe they'll be out of the handcuffs sooner than they think."

"Perhaps..." Keiko agreed, only to pause when a thought occurred to her. "But, I hope they don"t get into any trouble at the dance. I mean, they're practically stuck with each other and that doesn't leave them much choice but to go together."

Yusuke shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, but Kurama's probably not gonna go anyway." He paused, as he recalled something. A light smirk tugged at the corners of his lips. "Plus, I don't think Kurama would mind going with Botan."

Keiko gave him an incredulous stare. "Why would you think that?"

"... I think he likes her."

The brunette's stare seemed to intensify. "Ookayyy... and how do you know that, Mr. Know It All?" she asked again.

The smirk on her boyfriend's face widened. "I don't know, but I can just... sense it, you know? I'm a guy, so I can tell when one of my guy friends is in love. Besides..." He suddenly grabbed Keiko's hand in his, surprising the girl, "... he has this look on his face whenever he looks at her. And it's the same look I make when I look at you."

* * *

"Was there something the matter?" Botan inquired worriedly, as they continued their way to class. The crowd had somewhat decreased in number, allowing them to walk through the same route, resuming where they left off.

"Huh?" came Kurama's confused answer. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, you looked like there was something bothering you..." she muttered under her breath. Biting her lip, Botan tried to hold back the tears as she went on, "Is it because of the dance? You don't want to go?" She tried not to think of it that way, but still...

"No, it's not that," the redhead quickly reassured her when he noticed the disappointment evident on her features.

"Then, what is it?"

Kurama felled silent, not entirely sure how to respond. Even he didn't know what the answer was. He just... felt envious towards Shishi all of a sudden... and there was this rush of possesiveness he couldn't quite understand... He stared at her: at that adorable face, those beautiful, bright amethyst eyes, and those pink, soft lips... Almost as instantly, memories of the time they spent together flooded his mind: the awkward, embarrassing moments, the bad moments when they constantly argued, and the good and somewhat romantic ones...

That was when he finally realized.

The reason why he was harboring all these confusing feelings towards her, why he cared so much about her, why the thought of Shishi going out with her bothered him to the point of jealousy, and why he gave her all those kisses...

He was in love with her.

Kurama Minamino was in love...

 _Hopelessly and deeply in love with her._

"Nothing," he replied after a while. His face was serious, emerald eyes staring firmly into Botan's amethysts ones, making her heartbeat race, "Just..." He reached his hand out to capture hers, squeezing it tightly and possessively.

There was no way in hell he was going to give her to Shishi... This girl was **his**.

"Just what, Kurama?" Botan whispered, voice low and gentle as she intertwined their fingers together. "Just what?"

He took a deep breath. "Just..." and he leaned in closer until their noses were touching, voice soft yet pleading as he whispered, "Don't go with anyone else but me," his hot breath fanning over her lips.

Botan smiled: how could she say no?


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.**

 **Stuck With You**

 **Summary: AU, Kurama Minamino and Botan Fukuyama are sworn enemies. What happens when one day, they are handcuffed together and they don't have the key? Will they be able to put aside their differences and form a friendship… or something more?**

 **Chapter 13**

Kurama and Botan entered the classroom, only to be greeted by the person the former least wanted to see. Botan forced a smile as Shishi walked up to them, but Kurama didn't bother to do the same thing, emerald eyes staring at the blue head in an uninterested manner.

"How are you, Shishi?" Botan's voice spoke almost too casually for his taste, and he was tempted to tug at her hand and reprimand her for being a hypocrite. Might as well just let the guy know you're not interested.

"Hi, Botan-chan. I'm fine, I suppose," Shishi greeted back in a cheerful voice. Kurama was about to scoff at the nickname, only to bit back the sound when Botan subtly nudged him by the elbow. So he settled with rolling his eyes instead.

"What about you?"

"I'm fine, too," Botan replied politely, but Kurama caught the underlying irritation in her voice.

"It's a great day, isn't it?" Shishi said in an out of character, and Kurama didn't hold back the scoff that found its way out his mouth this time.

God knew the blue haired playboy was not the type to say such things. And that smile. That goddamn smile. Kurama wanted to wipe it off his face so bad.

His scoff didn't go unnoticed by Shishi, but was not acknowledged by him either. There was a deep frown on his face though, and his smile wavered slightly. His eyes were turned downwards, and the redhead quickly caught on to what he was gazing at.

An evil smirk tugged at Kurama's lips, mischief dancing in his eyes: he might just have the perfect idea to get rid of Shishi...

His cuffed hand reached to lightly brush against the back of Botan's, as he ignored the jump he received from the girl, and procceeded to intertwine their fingers together. Shishi's expression darkened visibly, as he cast a glare at the redhead. As if to antagonize him even more, Kurama brought Botan's hand to his lips, and planted a small kiss on the smooth skin. He tried not to pay attention to her pleasant scent. God, she smelled _sweet_...

Botan, on the other hand, couldn't help but feel embarrassed and also, slightly confused. He didn't seem like the type of guy who would enjoy public display of affection. Not that she was saying he felt something special for her, but... Okay, she should stop before a familiar red color starts to tint her cheeks.

Shishi's heated stare intensified, and Kurama resisted the urge to smirk in victory, male pride filling him as he succeeded in making the other boy jealous and showing that Botan was his, and no one else's.

The blue head cleared his throat awkwardly, tried to control his temper and avoided Kurama's smug stare. That fucking asshole... He took a few deep, calming breaths to calm down, but failed miserably as his blue brows knitted together in frustration.

"Glad to see you're doing well, especially with the handcuffs, Botan-chan," Shishi tried to sound lively as he spoke, but to no avail, when a growl involuntarily escaped his lips. Without waiting for the girl to reply, Shishi turned around and strolled off. Fuck, he really needed to cool his head right now...

"What was that all about?" Botan asked as soon as he was gone, back to his friends who all seated at the corner of the class. Her brows furrowed in bewilderment.

"Are you really that naive?" Kurama inquired instead of answering. He earned an adorable pout from her in return, which served to make him laugh a little. "He's jealous."

"Why would he be..." her confused voice trailed off, as a look of realization dawned on her face. "Oh." Her mouth formed an 'o' in understanding. " _Oh_." She couldn't resist the urge to grin toothily, obviously overjoyed. So that's what it was.

"I didn't know you cared so much about me that you were willing to get rid of him for me," she said playfully, as Kurama started to saunter towards their desks, automatically pulling her along, the girl following closely behind him.

A red shade colored his cheeks, but he didn't say anything as the duo took their respective seats. He could feel cold eyes glaring at him, and could only assume that was Shishi. The blush was somehow gone from his face now. Turning to look at Botan, Kurama regarded her with a deep frown.

"I wouldn't have to do that if you had the guts to tell him off," he scolded lightly, extending an arm to hit her playfully across the head. His expression was serious however, as he stared at the girl who pouted and rubbed the top of her head in response.

"I didn't know what to do. I mean, I've been trying to reject him for a long time, but he never gets it," Botan retorted defensively, crossing her arms... only to uncross them when she realized she had accidentally brought Kurama's hand to her chest. She tried to look angry, but the effect wore off as there was a light pink shade colouring her cheeks.

Kurama seemed to notice her discomfort. His face started to match hers; a small blush appearing on his features. He coughed awkwardly to regain his composure.

"Anyway," the redhead started, changing the subject, "Remember. You're not supposed to go with anyone to the dance... except me."

Botan's lips instantly curved upwards into a warm smile. "I know, I know..." she mumbled, a small laugh erupting from her throat when the redhead tugged at the metal chain connecting her wrist to his.

"I'm serious, Botan," he said, voice gentle but firmer this time. And true enough, she could tell how much it mattered to him just by the look on his face. Joy filled her heart at the prospect.

"I know," she repeated softly, the smile on her face widening ever so slightly. "I know..."

"Good. Promise me you won't go with Shishi, because if you do, I will kill you and dump your body into the sea," he told her unceremoniously, tone blunt as if he hadn't said something awful. His eyes seemed to bore into her soul.

Botan knew he didn't mean it, and couldn't help but let another fit of laughter escape her lips. "Kurama," She placed her elbow on her desk, and brought a hand to her face, burying her chin into the soft skin of her palm, "Are you jealous?"

She giggled uncontrollably as Kurama blushed beet red in embarrassment and started to throw curses her way.

* * *

"So anyway, I was like 'what, dude?', I was kinda freaked out... you get what I mean, right? I mean, the guy was trying to kiss Yukina-chan! My _beloved_ Yukina-chan!" Kuwabara rambled on and on, but the others didn't seem to be paying much attention to them.

Yukina, who had been the only one listening the entire time, made to stop him from talking. She softly tugged at his sleeve, smiling when the carrot-top turned to look at her, the animosity in his eyes gone in an instant, replaced with love and care only for her. He smiled back a big smile at her.

"It's fine, Kazuma-kun... I'm alright, so stop fretting about it..."

Kuwabara's smile faltered. He parted his mouth to respond, only to be cut off by Yukina who shushed him by placing a finger to his lips. The touch made him turn red in the face, a toothy grin spreading on his features.

"If you say so, Yukina-chan!" he gushed. Neither seemed to notice a pair of amethyst eyes watching them.

The corners of Botan's mouth formed a smile: she was really in glee for her friends. Other than Keiko and Yusuke, Yukina and Kuwabara seemed very happy to have their lovers by their side. But, she, on the other hand...

Her smile wavered a little.

"What's wrong?" Kurama's voice reached her ears, snapping her out of her thoughts and back to reality. She turned to peer her gaze over at him.

"Nothing..." she answered hesitantly.

A red eyebrow quirked her way. "I've known you for years, Botan. And although only three days ago, I got the chance to get to know you better, I've known you enough to notice when something's bugging you... Now, stop giving me those lies and tell me the truth," Kurama said, voice stern as he gave her a serious expression, leaving her no room for disagreement.

She bit her lip. Knowing he wasn't about to let her slide without an appropriate answer, Botan relented, heaving a sigh of defeat. "Well..." she started slowly, trying to choose her words carefully. "It's just... I mean, I'm really happy for Yukina and Keiko, but... I just get... oh, I don't know... Jealous? Yeah, I get jealous sometimes."

"What do they have that you don't have that's enough to make you envy them?" his response came almost immediate. To him, no one was better than her. No one would be. _Ever_.

"They have boyfriends who love them very much," the girl replied in a soft whisper. Her words almost made Kurama fall off the chair.

"Is that what you're worried about?"

"Well..."

The redhead shook his head in a disapproving manner, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. He scooted closer to her until their shoulders brushed, hand trailing from her arm to her slender one, and thumb drawing little, ticklish circles on her skin. This caught Botan, who hadn't expected the touch, off guard.

"Kurama...?"

"You know, Botan. You're a real idiot..." he mumbled under his breath, his voice low and almost inaudible, but she heard him quite clearly.

Her jaws dropped. "What-"

He cut her off before she managed to finish. "It's not a matter of having a boyfriend or not, but you... you just don't see it." She frowned in confusion, but he continued anyway, "Someone... Without you noticing, there's always someone who just... cares a lot about you. Loves you... Just as much as Yusuke and Kuwabara love Keiko and Yukina... If not, more," his words were almost not his own, his voice sounded as if he was in a trance, dream-like.

The crease on the girl's forehead disappeared. Her mouth curled upwards to form a bright grin, a slight pink shade was coloring her cheeks. "That's really sweet, Kurama. I didn't know you could be such a romantic..." Her grin wavered slightly, now replaced with a sad smile, "But, I don't know anyone who would be that particular 'someone'."

Kurama bit his lip, trying to resist the urge to say 'Me!'. _He_ cared a lot about her, _he_ loved her and _he_ wanted her. If it was _him_ , she could be happy. _He_ could make her happy. Couldn't she see that? Couldn't she... notice? How much she mattered to him?

He wanted to tell her how much he loved her. How much he needed her in his life.

But...

He just couldn't say the words.

 _Not here. Not now._


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.**

 **Stuck With You**

 **Summary: AU, Kurama Minamino and Botan Fukuyama are sworn enemies. What happens when one day, they are handcuffed together and they don't have the key? Will they be able to put aside their differences and form a friendship… or something more?**

 **Chapter 14**

Kurama wasn't one of the most temperamental people on earth. _Ever_.

Patience was one of his many virtues; it was one of the reasons he managed to be able to stand Botan's personality for years, on the first place. And although he'd snapped at her on more than a few ocassions before, he had never been known to lose his temper at someone other than her.

Which was why, it seemed odd to him that he was slowly losing his cool at Shishi Wakamaru's futile and pathetic attempts to get Botan to agree to be his date for the school dance. His mouth was tempted to scream that _she's mine, goddammit!_ But he resisted the urge to.

"Come on, Botan-chan... it'll be a one time thing! I promise!" Shishi practically begged, stopping in from of them once again to block their only route to the school gate. Kurama's eyebrow visibly twitched.

Botan gave him an awkward smile. "I don't know..." she mumbled uncertainly.

It wasn't as if she didn't know how Shishi was; granted, she wasn't that close to him, but she wasn't stupid enough not to notice the way he would handle some things: say one thing and do the exact opposite.

"Aww, but-! I already told my mom to prepare a limo..." the bluehead started to rant, the annoyed expression on Kurama's features and the nervous grin on Botan's didn't go unnoticed, but was not acknowledged either.

Kurama held back a scoff. As expected of Mr. Rich Boy. Preparing a limo. ' _I could certainly do better than that_ ,' he thought to himself, and rolled his eyes. But could he? Logic seemed to differ. He wasn't as rich as Shishi was.

He hated to admit it, but he was actually kind of jealous. He pondered for a moment how Botan would be if she were to go out with Shishi: she would be definitely happy; the bluehead had everything he could give to her.

Kurama paused in his musings. He scowled.

Let's not think about it.

"I'm sorry, Shishi, but I'm afraid I have to decline the offer. I'm sure many other girls would love to go with you though, and they are prettier and nicer than I am," Botan used the words she'd said over a million times.

Shishi's mouth formed a pout. "But..."

Kurama inwardly groaned as the other male made another excuse to once again, persuade the girl to agree. Was he that stupid? Did he not notice the uncomfortable way Botan was acting? Did he... did he... The redhead paused as a thought occured to him. Emerald eyes darting downwards, Kurama spared a brief glance at the handcuffs before looking back at Shishi's face.

A small smirk slowly tugged at the corners of his lips, his eyes mischievous and cunning, like a fox at play.

"You won't be able to take her to the dance, Shishi-san," Kurama spoke, voice curt, despite the idea coursing through his mind. The blue head regarded him with a death glare.

"And _why_ the hell is that?" he snapped.

"Because," the redhead lifted his left hand, automatically raising Botan's left, the metallic handcuffs sticking out in the air, "she will be going with yours truly."

Botan's eyes widened, and she almost jumped in surprise and joy. Although the redhead told her not to go to the dance with anyone but him, she hadn't expected him to just go up and inform someone about it, much less Shishi. The prospect made her... sort of happy.

For some reason.

Shishi's glare intensified, but this time his heated stare was fixed on the thing connecting Kurama's and Botan's wrists. His eyes threatened to burn a hole through it, to find a way to get Botan out of them, but of course, nothing happened.

"I know someone who can get you out of the handcuffs," Shishi spoke after a while, voice calm and even despite the scary look on his face. The words came almost immediately, before he could stop himself, but as they passed his lips, he realized they _were_ true.

"If you'd just allow me to assist you..." Shishi didn't manage to finish when Kurama raised one hand, silently ordering him not to say another word.

He frowned deeply, but the redhead smiled, almost too smugly for his taste.

"I'm afraid that won't do," Kurama said, voice low and chillingly cold. The smile felled from his face, emerald eyes darkening into a dark forest green: the jealousy, rage and possessiveness evident within them. "Because I'm planning to take her to the dance." He paused, a smirk crossing his face. "With or without the handcuffs."

Shishi's eyes widened in surprise, before narrowing dangerously at the other male. "What? You're shitting me!" he roared in a mixture of fury and disbelieve, "Are you shitting me?"

Kurama didn't respond, but the smirk visibly widened, further increasing the raging fire inside him. "But why on earth would you-? I thought you hate her! What, did you just suddenly take an interest in her or something, Minamino?" he hissed, ignoring the weird looks he received from the students that passed by.

"I would be lying if I told you I had never despised her. But, it would be another lie if I also said I still feel the same way." Emerald eyes narrowed. "So, stay away from her. She's not yours for you to take."

"Oh yeah?" Shishi shot back angrily. "Well, she's not yours either!"

The tension in the air seemed to grow as the confident smirk faltered on Kurama's smooth features. The animosity in his eyes darkened to a point it almost looked as if he was trying to light Shishi on fire.

Botan noticed that the redhead had gotten dangerously quiet. Fearing that something bad might happen if she didn't stop this, Botan swiftly spoke before the other two could beat her to it, "Ookayy... you guys are acting weird." She laughed to try to ease the tension a little. "Anyways, Shishi, Kurama's right. I wouldn't be able to go with you, even if I wanted to. What's with the handcuffs and all," she continued as a matter of factly, trying to sound logical as to not show that she, in fact, did prefer Kurama over Shishi.

The blue headed boy seemed to calm down a little after she spoke, and Botan heaved a sigh of relief. "Okay, fine. I'll let you have her, Minamino, but heed my words, this will not be the last time," Shishi warned, narrowing his eyes at the redhead. Then, he turned to look at Botan, sending her a warm and friendly smile.

"I'll see you later, Botan-chan," he said, voice so sweet Kurama had to resist the urge to puke. He ignored the disgusted look he earned from the other male. With a wave (and one last glare at Kurama), he bid Botan goodbye, before procceeding to stroll off.

Botan watched his retreating back for a while, and after she made sure he was gone, darted her eyes towards Kurama.

"Did you mean that?" she asked, eyes wide, with a hopeful edge in her voice.

Kurama regarded her with a quirked eyebrow. "Hm?"

"That you would take me to the dance." Her cheeks began to heat up as the words passed her lips. "With or without the handcuffs?"

She earned a smirk in return.

"What do you think?" Kurama sarcastically replied.

* * *

Botan threw her bag, the blue material landing unceremoniously at the corner of the room. She heaved a sigh, rubbed the back of her neck and strolled towards the bed. Kurama watched her as she flopped down the bed, her back bouncing a little as she hit the mattress. Botan was exhausted. She laid there for a while, before propping herself on her elbows and fixing her gaze on the boy.

"How can you stand them?" she asked with a deep frown, voice slightly aggravated.

The redhead merely shrugged his shoulders in response. "Well. I'm kind of used to them by now. I mean, they've been doing it for years," he answered dryly. Botan managed to pull a disgusted look.

She couldn't understand how everyone would get used to the sort of attention the famous and handsome redhead obviously received. A little while ago, they had been stalked by a couple of Kurama's fangirls, and had to pretend that they were boyfriend and girlfriend, just for the sake of avoiding them. Botan got most of the hatred for it, but she didn't really mind it at the time: she was just glad she was able to get rid of them.

It wasn't as if she didn't know of Kurama's reputation, and frankly, it wasn't really that strange that most girls acted that way around him. But it was suffocating, and not to mention, very annoying at times. Hell, she couldn't even handle Shishi sometimes.

"You don't seem interested in any of them though," Botan stated more than asked. She lifted her upper body from the bed, eyes following Kurama's movements as he moved to sit beside her.

"No, not really," came his absent-minded response. Kurama bent down to take off his socks, Botan followed his actions, and the two threw them somewhere in the room.

"Why? They're really pretty." The girl paused for a moment. "Well, most of them anyway."

A laugh began to build in Kurama's chest, before erupting from his throat. "Ouch," he sounded off teasingly. A smirk tugged at the corners of his lips as his fit of laughter subsided, fading into thin air. Mirth danced in his bright emerald eyes as he spoke, "That's kinda mean."

Botan laughed, before raising her arms up in the air. "Hey! I was just saying," she said defensively, but her voice was dripping with playfulness. "Can't help it if it's true."

Kurama's smirk widened slightly. "You are a really bad person, Fukuyama," he told her jokingly, and playfully flicked her forehead.

"Ow!" Botan whined when the redhead flicked her in the forehead. She rubbed the smooth skin a little, mouth forming a pout, as she feigned hurt. "Oh yeah? Well, if I'm a bad person, then you're an utter and complete jack-ass," she retorted back half-heartedly.

He fake-rolled his eyes. "You just realized?"

"No." She gave him a toothy grin, revealing her pearl white set of teeth. "I've always known that about you," she went on in a teasing voice.

Another laugh escaped him, but Kurama didn't say anything. Instead, he stretched his arms, a yawn managed to find its way out of his lips. Botan seemed to notice this, and arched an eyebrow his way.

"Are you tired?" she inquired, voice soft.

"Uh-huh," Kurama answered, the words that escaped him muffled as he stifled another yawn. Tears formed at the back of his eyes, and he extended a hand up to his face to wipe them away.

"Let me guess." Botan leaned in closer to him. The redhead darted his emerald eyes at her, a pink tint beginning to color his warm cheeks as he realized how close they were. Her shoulders brushed against him, and he resisted the urge to pounce on her.

"Fangirls?" she guessed, voice as low as a whisper, her hot breath fanning against his lips. He avoided her gaze, his blush darkening. The reaction made her want to giggle, the sound building in her chest, but she held it back, biting her lip.

"T-That," Kurama tried to sound calm and even, but his words passed his lips as a stutter. He cursed at himself: why did he have to act like that in front of her? He took a few deep, calming breaths to calm himself.

"That?" Botan prodded, giving him a questioning gaze.

"That," he went on when his head finally cooled a bit, voice sounding more casual now as he spoke, "And Shishi." The blush was gone completely from his face when he realized his vision was starting to become a blur, his eyelids heavy. It took him a moment for him to realize he was sleepy: he didn't know he was that exhausted.

Blue brows furrowed in confusion. "What? What do you mean?" she questioned in curiousity, despite already suspecting what the answer was.

"Isn't it obvious?" Kurama retorted sarcastically, rolling his eyes at her. A yawn finally escaped him, and he raised a hand, brought it to his mouth to stifle it. "The guy couldn't leave you alone..." he mumbled, voice trailing off as if he was drowsy and was about to take a deep slumber.

"Well, he likes me after all..." she muttered back, eyes blinking when the redhead once again rubbed a hand at his eyes.

"Well," Kurama started, copying her, "If you just have the guts to just straight up and tell him you're not interested in him the way he is with you, then maybe he would come to his senses, and stay away from you," he spoke in a matter-of-factly way, but when he thought about it, he realized he didn't mean the words. If he was Shishi, and even if Botan told him that the feelings weren't mutual, he would probably never stop chasing after her as well. She was too precious to let go so easily, he realized. A warm, soft smile slowly curved itself at the corners of his lips at the thought, only to fall as quickly as it crossed his face, as his eyelids grew heavier.

Maybe... he should... take a nap... Just for a little while...

The frown that had never left Botan's face considerably deepened at his words. "It's not my fault! I've been telling him subtly that I don't like him that way, but it's him! He's the one who just doesn't want to leave me alone, ya know? Maybe he likes me too much or..." Botan's rant came to a stop, her feminine voice trailing off as she felt something at her shoulder.

Darting her eyes downwards, Botan fixed her gaze at the redhead. His crimson strands tickled her cheeks and her nose, but she didn't mind it. He was asleep. How cute.

She smiled, a loving stare replacing the indinant expression on her soft features earlier.

"Idiot..."


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.**

 **Stuck With You**

 **Summary: AU, Kurama Minamino and Botan Fukuyama are sworn enemies. What happens when one day, they are handcuffed together and they don't have the key? Will they be able to put aside their differences and form a friendship… or something more?**

 **Chapter 15**

Botan fiddled with her thumbs nervously as she glanced around the huge room, a vibrant crimson tint coloring the porcelain skin of her cheeks.

Around her, the boys stared rudely at her, and the girls shot her heated glares. She figured the angry looks was because she had Kurama as her date, and that they were most likely jealous of her. Although she'd gotten used to them over time, and wasn't really that bothered, she couldn't stand the constant leering she earned from the boys.

A chill went down her spine as another boy trailed his eyes down her body, inappropriately fixing his gaze on the valley of her chest. He whistled, obviously pleased by the sight. He didn't seem even the slightest bit worried over his partner who gawked at him in disbelieve at the inappropriate display.

Botan swiftly covered herself with both her arms, closing her eyes as her blush deepened in embarrassment.

Eyelids fluttering open, Botan proceeded to shoot daggers his way, but his eyes were no longer focused on her. Amethyst eyes blinked in confusion, before following his gaze. What greeted her sight was Kurama, he wore a dark expression on his face, emerald orbs narrowed in a menacing way.

"Stay away," Kurama growled, low and dangerous, sending delicious shivers down Botan's spine and making the boy in front of them cower in fear.

"Uh…" he started uncomfortably, casting his eyes away from the redhead's wrathful face. "I'll be going now." With that, he turned the other way around, dragging his date with him. "Come on, let's go," he whispered urgently, whilst ushering his girl who had been too busy swooning over Kurama.

"Wow," Botan muttered, an expression of awe crossing her soft features. She was rather impressed by Kurama who managed to rid themselves of the rude boy with just a look and some words. And he'd done it in an instant.

At the reminder of how furious Kurama had seemed at the boy's lustful stare at her, Botan couldn't help but turn red in the face with what someone could interpret as shy pride. She didn't think he cared _that_ much about her.

"I told you, you shouldn't have worn that dress," Kurama's silk-like voice sounded smooth as they reached her ears, cutting short her musings.

Botan darted her eyes towards him, peering over his unreadable face. He didn't seem nor sound angry, but he was no doubt upset. Her mouth formed a pout, as she realized that his words were true, and that she probably should've listened to him.

Taking her eyes off of the redhead, Botan averted her gaze to scrutinize her own appearance. The white dress she wore reached her feet, and could be consider decent; but the top was a problem, and did no justice in covering what was underneath. The straps were loose as they hung on her shoulders, barely covering her supple breasts.

Another blush adorned her cute face as she recalled how she'd enjoyed staring at herself in the mirror while twirling in this dress. She hadn't noticed her state of dress at the time, and didn't think it would be a big deal to wear it at the dance. She rather liked it after all. It was new, and they had just bought it, but Botan found herself fond of this new clothing than her other ones. She didn't think of the consequences though, and was surprised by the hungry stares she'd earned upon arriving at the dance. She couldn't understand why though, the other girls had less than her to cover.

"Sorry…" she mumbled under her breath, voice soft and timid. She couldn't help but wonder what the others thought of her, but didn't care that much of their opinions. Then, she thought of Kurama: what did he think of her? Seeing her wear this?

"No, don't be sorry," Kurama quickly reassured her as soon as her head turned downwards, looking almost disappointed at herself. "It's just…" he started, raking a hand through his crimson strands as he expelled a deep sigh. "It's just… I don't like the way they're looking at you. Lustful, feral, hungry… Like a bunch of animals." He growled out the last word, anger evident in his voice.

Botan was taken by surprise at how furious the redhead really was. The shock died down somewhat soon after though, replaced with overwhelming joy. A small smile spread on her face.

"Don't mind them. They're just boys," she said in reassurance, a hand reaching out to touch Kurama's hand, thumb drawing soothing circles along the skin of his palm.

Kurama's body stiffened, the simple touch making his heart leap with joy. _Stop leaping, goddammit_ , he begrudgingly thought to himself, bringing his free hand to tug awkwardly at his collar, in an attempt to calm himself.

"Exactly, they're boys," he agreed in a firm voice. Eyes glaring at any male who dared to look Botan's way: sending them a message that literally meant 'back off or I'll kill you'. She was **his** Botan. "They're not men, that's why they're acting like that. Savages." He rolled his eyes, oblivious to the blue haired girl's bewildered stare.

"What's the difference between a boy and a man?" she asked curiously, leaning in closer to him to peer at his face. She noticed Kurama's cheeks colored pink as their shoulders brushed, but decided that maybe she imagined it, as it was gone as quickly as it had appeared.

"A man knows how to treat a woman with respect. He knows how not to break a heart. How… not to stare at other's possessions so shamelessly like a bunch of bastards starving for a piece of meat," he answered savagely, voice rough and hoarse as he spoke.

Botan shivered in delight at the possessive edge in his voice. She wasn't willing to admit it, and probably would never be, but she found herself rather enjoying all his attention. She couldn't help the warm, happy smile that found its way to her face, curling the corners of her pink lips upwards.

"And a boy?" she proceeded to inquire, despite already knowing the answer. It was obvious. Crystal clear.

"A boy is clueless in terms of taking care of the heart. He doesn't know how to treat a woman properly, and only treats women as sex objects," Kurama replied crudely, and earned a giggle in return, to which he cast a questioning gaze at the owner of the voice. He quirked an eyebrow her way.

"What?" he asked, confusion evident in his voice. Botan's fit of giggles slowly subsided, fading into thin air, as the girl merely shook her head in response.

"Nothing… It's just that I wondered which one you are." She darted her eyes towards him, staring straight into his pair of emeralds. The boy fidgeted under her unwavering gaze. "Are you a boy or a man?"

Kurama paused, taking a moment to think of the answer. Was he a boy or a man? To be honest, he didn't know. He was far from being a boy, but not close enough to deserve to be called a man.

"Neither," he responded after some time.

Botan raised her eyebrow at the cryptic answer she received. Her eyes never tore away from his face, even as he avoided her gaze. "What do you mean?"

"I'm not a man, Botan." He smiled bitterly. "But, I am not a boy either. I… I'm not sure which one I am."

His words were greeted with silence, the air around them growing slightly tense, and he worried if she was judging him. Fortunately, her voice sounded soon after, and he heaved a sigh of relief.

"You'll find out in due time," she told him, a smile tugging at her lips. Kurama couldn't help but return the smile with his own: sometimes she would sound wiser than she looked, and she would never notice that about herself.

Kurama shook his head slightly, but the smile adorning his handsome features broadened into a wide grin, revealing his pearl white teeth. Extending a hand out towards the girl, who furrowed her eyebrows at him in confusion in return, Kurama spoke, with a voice that was very much like a charming prince, "Would you like to dance?"

Botan, finally understanding what the hand was for, formed an 'o' with her mouth. She nodded her head, soft features brightening with a big smile that tugged at her lips.

"Yeah."

And she placed her hand into his, as he brought her to the dance floor.

* * *

"Damn fox!" Shishi growled, the nickname he'd given Kurama passing his lips in a harsh voice. "I'll kill him! For taking Botan away from me! That-that… that brute! _Motherfucking_ Asshole—"

Suzuki shook his head in disapproval as his bluehead companion continued to curse at the redhead. His friend was drunk, he could tell. Beside the obvious way he was swinging around the bottle of liquor in his hands, Suzuki was aware of the fact that Shishi was not in his best state of mind.

"Just forget about her, man!" he tried to talk some sense into the other male. "You've got thousands of pretty chicks chasing after your pretty ass, and you're here like, what? Clinging onto the only girl who happens not to be in love with you like a lovesick puppy?"

Shishi let a small hiccup involuntarily escaped his lips as he turned his head at the right direction to peer over his blonde friend. He gave him a weird stare, as if he'd just grown two heads.

"Pretty ass, eh? I _knew_ you were gay," Shishi slurred, pointing a finger accusingly at Suzuki. He almost tripped and felled on the floor, if it hadn't been for the latter who caught him in time before he could experience the fall. A hand swiftly reached to push Suzuki roughly off of him. "But I'm not interested in men. I… only want…" he hiccuped once again, before continuing, "…Botan…"

Suzuki rolled his eyes at his friend's words. If it had been years ago, the blond would think he would get over the puppy love he harbored towards the girl, but apparently, over time he realized he was wrong. Shishi really was in **love** with her. Not just some stupid crush, but something more serious. Dare Suzuki think it, _feelings_. But, enough was enough, and it was time Shishi realized there was more to life than just chasing after Botan. He felt sorry for his friend, but it was for the best. Besides…

He paused, glancing at a certain duo dancing and laughing at the dance floor. A blue haired girl with her red haired companion.

… She seemed to be more interested in that guy Kurama anyway.

"Just give her up, dude. You'll find someone else," Suzuki reassured Shishi, and grabbed at the latter's arm as the blue head tried to saunter his way towards the dance floor, having noticed Botan and Kurama together.

"Shut up, Suzuki," Shishi countered harshly, and tugged at his arm in an attempt to release it from Suzuki's vice-like hold. It was to no avail however, as he could barely stand on his own two feet without tripping once a while and holding on to his friend for support, so how could he find the strength to tug his arm out of the blonde's grasp?

"I know you're probably in love with me, but I just don't see you that way…" the blue haired boy mumbled.

Suzuki was almost tempted to punch his friend in the face. Maybe _that_ would talk some sense into him. "For fuck's sake, dude! I don't even like you like that! But, that's not the point… You don't even need Botan! You've gotta forget her, get over her! She's just—just some girl! There's a lot of girls in this world, so you'll definitely find someone better—"

His words were abruptly cut off by Shishi who swung a fist at his face. He felled to the ground, mouth bleeding and coughed out some blood.

"What the hell, man?!" he roared in anger, as he lifted his face to glower at his friend.

"She's _not_ just some girl," Shishi said, voice low and dangerous as he returned the glare. After a moment, he finally broke off the heated stare, and throwing the bottle of alcohol away, Shishi could hear the sound of glass shattering and a few surprised gasps as it landed somewhere on the floor. But he didn't care. He needed to get to Botan.

With that line of thought coursing in his mind, he strolled towards the dance floor.


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.**

 **Stuck With You**

 **Summary: AU, Kurama Minamino and Botan Fukuyama are sworn enemies. What happens when one day, they are handcuffed together and they don't have the key? Will they be able to put aside their differences and form a friendship… or something more?**

 **Chapter 16**

"You guys having a good time tonight?"

Botan almost jumped in surprise at the voice, unexpected yet familiar. She felt Kurama's arms tightened their hold around her waist, possesive and protective, as he glared at the 'intruder'. Tentatively, Botan averted her eyes towards the owner, her heart thumping loud and fast in her chest when she saw that it was Shishi. Usually, she wouldn't be so frightened when he was around; although the boy was persistent in his pursue for her love, he hardly ever did anything dangerous to her. But, tonight felt… different. There was something in his eyes: something she couldn't quite put her finger on. But it unnerved her nonetheless.

Besides, his cheeks were colored a bright pink, his eyes were dark, hazy even, and it didn't take a genius to put two and two together – he was drunk.

"Shishi…" His name passed her lips in a low, almost inaudible whisper. Her brows furrowed in concern; she couldn't help but feel worried about him.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Kurama asked, all friendliness aside as he spoke in a harsh and dangerous tone. His eyes narrowed at the blue haired boy, who merely gave him a mocking smirk in return.

"You stole Botan from me," Shishi simply answered. His words slurred, as if he wasn't thinking clearly. Well, obviously he wasn't. What's with the alcohol in his system and over taking his senses.

"Shishi…" Botan said again, voice gentle but definitely firmer this time.

She felt sorry for him; she knew he had probably been drinking because of her. But, this needed to stop. And it needed to stop now. She hardly deserved him… his attention, his love, his warmth… And perhaps it was because she didn't think she was good enough for him, perhaps not. But, she knew she couldn't be with him anyway. She harbored no feelings for him, and she never would be able to. To her, Shishi was more of a friend than anything else.

"Kurama didn't steal me from you," she went on softly, amethyst orbs staring at his pink ones. They stared back at her, as if searching for something. For her soul. She almost relented, but she didn't. "You have to stop this. Stop chasing after me. You're a nice guy, Shishi. I know you really are. But, I'm not the girl for you." It hardly seemed logical to reason with him when his mind was the least stable, but she had to say it.

Shishi's eyes narrowed dangerously at her, darkening his handsome features. "What? What do you mean? There is no other girl than you for me, Botan-chan," he growled out the words, teeth gritting against each other. "I will not have another."

Botan parted her lips, making to say something… only to stop herself mid way when Kurama beat her to it.

"Lay off, Shishi," Kurama warned, all humanity now lost in his once bright emerald eyes, replaced with an animosity that could make even the strongest fighter waver under his gaze. "She said it herself: she's not yours."

Shishi's face turned bright crimson in pure anger. He sauntered towards them, footsteps calm and even, but deadly and dangerous. When they were close enough, one of his hands flew to the collar of Kurama's white shirt. Tugging at the piece of clothing harshly, Shishi forced the redhead closer to his face, pink orbs glaring at him. But, Kurama seemed as if he was far from scared of him, he looked as if he pitied him even. Emerald eyes stared back into his eyes with a calmness he couldn't fathom, but there was more to them than that. Something that caused his breath to hitch in his throat, and he soon found himself at a loss for words.

The bluehead gulped down a lump. "Yeah? Well, she's not yours either," he countered, trying to sound fierce as he spoke. But, he cursed at himself when the words passed his lips in a silent whisper instead. Low. Hopeless. He almost felt like a little boy. Cowering at the corner of the room.

"Yes." Kurama placed a hand over Shishi's, gripping it firmly, before strongly tugging it away from his collar. Shishi was taken off guard by the action, and although the boy didn't express it in his facial features, but the redhead could clearly see the surprise in his eyes. "But at least, she's fonder of me than she is of you," he continued to provoke.

It was to no surprise at all when Shishi had swung a fist in the air, and landed a punch directly in his face. Kurama had expected it even, but he made no move to dodge it. Distantly, he could hear Botan's shocked gasp at the action, but it was drowned by a thousands of whispers coming from other people.

"You fucking bastard!" Shishi roared indignantly, a blazing fire raged in his eyes, the wrath evident on his face.

Kurama was not even the least bit upset at being hit in the face. It hurt like hell, but he would live. Plus, he'd experienced harder punches from his best friend Hiei.

Shishi, on the other hand, expected him to lash out at him. Waited for him to do so even. But, his wait was fruitless, when he earned something else in return.

Instead, a smirk slowly tugged at the corners of the redhead's mouth. Darting out his tongue, Kurama wiped off the crimson blood trickling down his bottom lip, before lifting his head to shoot a mocking stare at the other male.

"Is that it? Is everything you do, you do it with violence? Hardly the most reasonable choice of action to deal with a problem, don't you agree?" Kurama spoke curtly, as if he hadn't been hit until his mouth bled.

From the corners of his eyes, Kurama could see Botan, a worried expression adorning her face. She was adorable. And sweet. Caring. But now was not the suitable time to be thinking of that. He pretended he didn't notice her concern, and proceeded to tilt his head at Shishi. His gaze was questioning, as if he expected to receive an answer from the blue haired boy.

Shishi merely shot daggers his way, his eyes threatening to burn a hole into Kurama's head. Damn him. Damn him too hell. He hated him so much. Why did he have to taunt him like that?

"Fuck you," Shishi growled, low and dangerous. The duo made no move to acknowledge the annoying whispers surrounding them.

Walking towards the redhead, Shishi's glare seemed to intensify even more. He stopped when he was near enough, until he was eye-leveled with the other male. "Why do you think you get to have her? You don't deserve her. You didn't earn her," he whispered, voice almost inaudible but ragged and harsh as it erupted from his throat. "You _hated_ her, for god's sake."

The redhead surprisingly let out a fit of laughter. "Ah. There you go."

For some reason, Kurama's smirk was replaced with a smile, gentle, warm and comforting. But to Shishi, it didn't mean none of those things. He was taunting him, he realized.

"You _do_ realize you said 'hated', right? The word 'hated' means that I hated her. In the past. But no longer. I don't loathe her anymore. Botan…" Kurama's eyes softened, the mocking smile faltered from his face, as a serious expression took over. "…I love her," he finally admitted.

Kurama felt as if a boulder had been raised from his shoulders, a burden lifted, as he had told somebody of his feelings. Even if it was Shishi, it felt good to let them out.

"I love her too, goddamn it!" Shishi half cried and half whispered. He sounded desperate. Pathetic even. And he despised himself for being so weak.

"Yes." Kurama's mouth formed a bitter smile. It was sincere: genuine, as if he really did pity him. Looking at Shishi was like staring into a mirror. Like… he was staring at himself. He realized he understood the other boy's feelings, for he, too, was in love with the same girl.

"But, we can't both have her," he went on, voice firmer as he spoke. The fierce look in Shishi's eyes wavered, the anger gradually fading away, softening his hardened features.

Taking a step back, Shishi backed further away from the redhead. Kurama's gaze seemed to never leave him, and it unnerved but comforted him in a way. Strange. He felt as if he was understood. But, that was probably just because they shared the same feelings.

His eyes cast downwards, staring at his feet. For a moment, he pondered if he was displaying the exact image of a little boy, who was being scolded by his parent. But, he shrugged it off immediately.

"You're right," Shishi spoke after a while, voice almost inaudible, unaware that Kurama had heard him. He raised his head to fix an unreadable stare on the redhead's face, studying him.

The other male seemed calm, as if nothing ever bothered him. He was the very image of a puzzle; a maze. He was difficult for someone to figure out. Harder still, was to get him to admit to something personal. He never shared his thoughts, and even Hiei, his best friend, couldn't comprehend most of his personality, Shishi suspected. Kurama had built a layer of wall, blocking anyone who tried to get closer to the real him. And beneath that wall, laid another layer, and another, and another, and another…

This guy needed someone. Someone who was willing to actually stick with him. To peel off those layers of walls one by one. To shower him with love and warmth. To know him. To undertand him.

Shishi concluded.

He smirked inwardly.

There was no other person suitable for the job but Botan herself. The love of his life. The girl of his dreams… but perhaps, she was right. Kurama was right. Hell, even Suzuki was right for a change.

She was not the girl for him.

The only reason he had ever fallen in love with her was because he had been the same as Kurama. Lonely. Different. Misunderstood. But, she was the one who pulled him out of that darkness he called loneliness; and no doubt, she would be able to do the same for Kurama. It was almost laughable, but he actually felt sorry for the redhead. Maybe… he smiled bitterly… because he used to be just like him.

He wanted Botan.

But, Kurama? Oh, the boy needed her.

So, he decided, _I should let her go_.

And as he repeated the words Kurama had said, "We can't both have her," he finally did. Turning around, Shishi strolled off, wrapping an arm around a girl he didn't recognize and pulling her away from her date to make everything seem normal. But he knew Kurama got the message:

" _Don't fucking mess this up. You hurt her, and I'll puncture a hole into your fricking heart._ "

Kurama smiled.

Feeling a presence beside him, filling him with warmth and joy, he could only recognize it as Botan. Turning his head to look down at the girl, Kurama regarded her worried look with a smile of reassurance.

 _I won't_ , he thought.

* * *

"What did you tell him?" Botan asked curiously, as she and Kurama danced, waltzing and body swaying with the music. She stared at the redhead with blinking eyes. She had noticed him speaking with Shishi earlier, but hadn't been able to understand what they were saying.

A warm and almost loving smile found its way to his lips, but he didn't answer. Big, innocent eyes, mouth soft and pink, grinding against her teeth as she bit her lower lip… She was overwhelmingly cute. He had to resist the urge to kiss her right then and there. That wouldn't be wise; there were other people besides them in the room.

 _But that would surely keep them away_ , Kurama mused, the smile fading and changing into a light smirk, emerald eyes dancing with mischief. Yes. It would surely keep those douchebags who dared to look at her away.

Maybe he _should_ kiss her.

That would make them realize who she belonged to.

Botan made to ask him why he wouldn't answer her question, only to stop half way. She paused, body turning into a rigid line as she felt Kurama's hand – that had been on her back – moved downwards. Slowly. Teasingly. A shiver went down her spine.

"Kurama…" she said his name, voice stern, as if she was warning him not to do anything… 'weird', that might cause them to be in the centre of attention. Seriously though, what was he planning all of a sudden?"

"What are you doing?" Botan's words came out in a surprised exclaim, as Kurama's hand found her hips, squeezing lightly.

The boy in question merely gave her a wolfish grin in response. Leaning in closer to her, Kurama tilted his head to the side so that his lips were inches away from her sensitive ear.

"Nothing," he purred, and relished in the way she jumped at the contact of his hot breath against her skin.

"Yeah, if you count grabbing my ass and whispering in my ear 'nothing'," Botan replied dryly, sending him a deadpanned look. Nothing? This was not _nothing_. It was anything but nothing!

A laugh began to build in Kurama's chest, and erupted from his throat. He was somewhat amused and not to mention, pleased, to sense that the girl was irked at his words.

"Okay then, I guess it's not nothing," Kurama acknowledged her with another grin. Botan huffed angrily, but a smile began to adorn her cute face.

"Botan," Kurama called, after a moment of silence.

"Hm?"

The girl looked up, eyes widening in alarm when she realized that their lips were slowly but gradually inching closer. Blood immediately rushed to her cheeks, and she opened her mouth to tell him to stop, but nothing came out. So instead, she stared heatedly at Kurama, trying to look fierce, but the effect was ruin as the pink blush stuck on her face like glue.

Kurama couldn't help but smile at the adorable expression she sent him. "Cute," he purred once again, catching Botan off guard. But he could sense she had somewhat succumed to him, as he felt her body relax, loosening up against his.

His eyes drifted close, and he was about to crush his lips on hers when…

"Well, hello there, Kurama," a familiar voice spoke, breaking him out of his reverie.

The redhead had never been so quicker in anything when he pulled apart from the girl in his arms. He growled inwardly, frustration creeping up his skin at the notion of being interrupted. Despite already knowing who it was, Kurama turned his head to look downwards at the short spiky haired boy staring back at him with mirthful eyes.

"Hiei," he greeted back tartly.

That was when he noticed the brown haired woman standing beside his friend. He arched an eyebrow at her.

"And the principal?" he inquired in wonder.

She was never the one who would… well, indulge herself in these kind of 'activities', in spite of her position as principal of the school.

The woman smiled, and seemed as if she was trying to bite back a fit of laughter.

"You seem to be enjoying yourself," she remarked in a teasing voice, earning a scowl from the redhead in return. He might like to tease, but he sure as hell didn't like to be teased.

"Yes. Well." Kurama's arm tightened its hold around Botan, who blinked at him confusedly in response. "This is an occasion for the students to be enjoying themselves, is it not?"

The principal noticed the public display of affection, but didn't acknowledge it. Hiei, on the other hand, scoffed.

"Well, you seem to be doing that too much," the shorter male said, expression uninterested as he stared back and forth between Kurama and Botan, before fixing his gaze on the arm that was linked around the girl's waist. He _never_ would've thought his friend would grow so fond of her.

Then again, he would admit that it was a bit interesting.

A smirk tugged at the corners of his lips.

"And you seem to be having trouble finding your partner," Kurama responded dryly. Despite what he said, he knew his friend wouldn't have gone with a date. Most probably he had been dragged by Yukina.

Hiei rolled his eyes. "Hn. I don't need a freaking stupid chick to babysit."

"Where's Yukina?" Botan questioned, when she noticed there was no signs of the small girl anywhere.

The question managed to make Hiei pull a look of a mixture of disgust and discomfort. "She's with that oaf, _Kuwabara_ ," he forced out the carrot-top's name in a hiss, as if it was poison.

Botan let a small girlish giggle escape her, ignoring the death glare Hiei shot her way in the process. In spite of the fact Hiei always expressed his dislike towards Kuwabara, she knew the former cared at least enough to consider the latter a friend. And, considering he was not out to kill Kuwabara, Botan sensed that perhaps he had also accepted the relationship his sister shared with the carrot-top.

"Is there anything you need from us?" Kurama averted his attention to the principal, who gave him a smile in return.

The woman didn't answer at once. Sliding her hands into the pockets of her coat, her fingers fetched for something. A moment later, she retrieved a golden key from her pocket, and dangled it in front of the duo. Botan's and Kurama's eyes widened in realization. That was…

"Congratulations, you two," the principal said with her smile widening. She then handed it to Kurama, who blinked stupidly at it for a while.

Glancing at each other, Kurama and Botan pondered for a moment if they should be freed of the handcuffs. It felt… odd being away from one another, after spending so much time together. They were tempted not to take the handcuffs off, as they were scared that they might drift apart later on.

 _But, it_ **doesn't** _mean that we would be without each other_ , Kurama reassured himself. It wasn't as if they could be stuck like this forever. Now, the idea sounded preposterous.

Heaving a sigh, Kurama inserted the key into the keyhole, Botan staring at him in surprise.

The shock died down soon after though, and she bit her lower lip, as she watched the redhead take the metal handcuffs off. She felt as if she had lost something important. Like… there was a hole in her heart. She would never admit it out loud, but she grew fond of them. If the handcuffs weren't there, what would be of she and Kurama? Would they have stayed being enemies? It probably sounded stupid, but _they_ were what brought them together. The handcuffs. If it weren't for them, she probably wouldn't have gotten to know Kurama better. Wouldn't have gotten closer to him.

With that line of thought in her head, Botan reached out before Kurama could hand the handcuffs and the golden key to the principal.

"Wait!"

The other three averted their gazes towards her, expressions bewildered as they waited for her to say something. Botan hesitated, but after taking a few deep breaths, she finally said;

"Can I keep those?"


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.**

 **Stuck With You**

 **Summary: AU, Kurama Minamino and Botan Fukuyama are sworn enemies. What happens when one day, they are handcuffed together and they don't have the key? Will they be able to put aside their differences and form a friendship… or something more?**

 **Chapter 17**

"Why keep them?" Kurama asked curiously, one eyebrow quirked at Botan as they continued their dance, as Hiei and the principal stalked off somewhere else. The redhead pondered for a moment why his short friend was together with the woman, but decided against thinking too much about it.

He found it stranger still when the principal agreed to let Botan have the handcuffs, giving the young girl what she wanted. It was obvious even _she_ was taken off guard by Botan's request, so he had thought she would say 'no'. Obviously, that didn't happen and Kurama assumed perhaps she knew something he didn't.

"No reason," Botan said after a moment of silence. She found it hard to answer him when she knew it would result in her own embarrassment.

"Yeah, right," Kurama scoffed, hand trailing lower to her hips to squeeze the soft mounds in warning. His eyes seemed to bore into her soul as they stared straight into hers, studying her.

A blush spread on Botan's cheeks at the less than inappropriate touch. For a moment, her amethyst eyes wandered around the room, looking nervously to see if anyone had seen his… ahem, _perverted_ action.

"Someone might see us," she whispered ungently, instead of acknowledging him with an appropriate response. Kurama didn't seem pleased by this. He wanted to know. And he needed to know. _Now_.

"Botan…" he growled, low and dangerous as his grip on her butt tightened. The girl shivered involuntarily, but he ignored it. "Answer me," he went on, voice stern, leaving her no room to disagree.

She was silent, but the blush on her face reddened to a darker shade. "F-fine," she tried to sound angry, but the effect certainly wore off when she stuttered. She cursed at herself, upon seeing a satisfied smirk on his face.

"I just… Well, I thought it would be lonely without the handcuffs," she said slowly, trying to choose her words correctly. "It just… feels kinda… um, hollow… without them…" she trailed off, biting her lip as the crimson color on her cheeks deepened to the point she thought she would faint.

There. She said it. Happy now?

Kurama was quiet, expression thoughtful as if he was trying to take in all the information. After a moment though, a toothy grin tugged at the corners of his lips. His bright emeralds danced in mischief, and Botan fought the urge to scurry away from his gaze.

"You feel 'hollow' without the handcuffs?" Kurama's voice was teasing as the words escaped him. Something glinted in his eyes: something she couldn't quite interpret, but it made her shiver nonetheless. "Do you have a weird fetish involving handcuffs or something? Like maybe you've had a fantasy—"

"No!" Botan cried out indignantly, only to blush again when all eyes in the room darted her way. She grinned nervously, and was inwardly more than relieved when everyone averted their gaze.

Kurama, on the other hand, was finding it hard to bite back the chuckle that threatened to come out of his lips.

Amethyst orbs fixed a heated glare on him. "You're crazy," Botan muttered under her breath. "What are you thinking, saying things like that? This is not the time for jokes, you freaking asshole—"

"That hardly sounds like a language a lady would use."

Botan ignored him. "—I'm serious here. Do you know how hard it was for me to confess all that? How embarrassing it was? Frankly though, I find it more difficult to appreciate your sense of humor at a time like this. At least—"

"I was just kidding, Botan," Kurama laughed, amused by her rant. He knew she wasn't truly upset, and was merely embarrassed and trying to hide it by being furious. It was the sort of thing she would do.

"—give me a serious response, douchebag."

After she was finished, Kurama merely seemed to stare at her with mirthful eyes, which served to make her glare intensify.

"And for your information, I'm the last person you should call a lady," Botan continued after some time, referring to his words before. "Besides, you know me long enough to be fretting over something so stupid."

"Yes. Well." Kurama's mouth formed a small smile. "That was also a joke."

Botan expelled a sigh at his words, and shook her head. But a smile played at the corners of her lips. "You're impossible."

"Whatever." Kurama lightly shrugged his right shoulder, the smile broadening into a grin that revealed his pearl white teeth. "You like me anyway." _And I like you_ , he wanted to say, but resisted the urge to.

"As a friend," Botan quickly corrected, a cute blush adorning her features. Something about his words made her feel… off. Different. _Giddy_. But, she tried not to show it.

Her words stung a little, but the redhead reassured himself that she wasn't aware of what he actually meant. "Yes," he replied, voice calm and even, despite the whirlwind of emotions taking residence in his heart. "A friend."

Botan seemed to notice that he wasn't quite himself. She made to ask him what was bothering him, only to cut herself short when Kurama's emerald orbs darted elsewhere, somewhere behind her, and to the left. She felt a… feeling of disappointment when he looked away, but immediately brushed it off when Kurama's gaze darkened, eyes still fixed at a different direction.

Her brows knitted together in worry. "Kurama? What's going—"

The redhead's mouth crushed against hers, silencing her startled gasp. Her body stiffened at the sudden lip to lip contact, but quickly relaxed as his arms tightened their hold around her.

Kurama's eyes were closed, but he peeked one open to stare at something behind her again. He smirked inwardly, male pride filling him when a boy with raven hair widened his purple eyes in surprise. Obviously, he was shocked by the redhead's actions, implying that he'd been watching them. Kurama had only noticed him a moment ago, staring at Botan, gaze lingering at her hips that swayed to the music, and trailing over every inch of her exposed porcelain skin. It didn't settle well with the redhead of course, and he felt a rush of possesiveness. She was **his** , and he would prove it. Even if that meant he had to kiss her in public.

"Kurama," Botan whispered, breathing slightly ragged as they broke off the kiss. "What's wrong with you?" She darted her eyes upwards, an adorable shade of pink tinting her cheeks, mouth bruised and swollen from his kiss. It was hard to resist her, and Kurama had to fight the urge to do more… _sensual_ things to her.

"Nothing," he replied, voice smooth, as both his hands found her hips, squeezing the soft skin. Botan whimpered, surprised, but she didn't pull away or tell him to stop.

"Kurama…." His name escaped her lips again, this time sounding urgent yet stern, as if she was silently warning him not to pull any tricks. It was obvious she enjoyed the touches though, as her body subconsciously leaned closer, flushing against his.

A light smirk tugged at his lips. Ignoring her firm warning, Kurama pulled her closer to him, biting back a purr as her perfect breasts crushed against his hard chest. Botan made to reprimand him for his behavior, but Kurama was swift in silencing her, lips forcefully moving against her still ones in a bruising kiss. She quickly gave in though, kissing him back with a passion that almost left him breathless.

He pulled apart, a cute whine escaping Botan's lips at the lost of contact. Kurama couldn't help but smile, eyes reflecting love and desire only for her. She parted her lips to demand for more, only to moan softly when his lips traveled to her sensitive ear. A shiver of delight went down her spine, as the redhead tugged at the patch of skin with his teeth, nipping gently. His tongue darted out to lick sensually but slowly across her ear, making her grip his shirt in her hands tightly. God, what the hell was he doing…

From the corner of his eyes, Kurama could see the guy from earlier looking away with displeasure evident on his face, and strolling off somewhere else, apparently giving up on the blue haired girl. And although he knew he should stop now, Kurama hardly wanted to. The way she responded to his touch… the sounds she made… he needed more of them.

With that, his mouth traveled lower to her neck, a throaty groan erupting from his throat when the girl arched her back in response. He kissed the skin there, before darting out his tongue to lick. He didn't even manage to get the slightest brush of the wet appendange against her smooth throat though, as a voice rudely interrupted him. One that was familiar, and definitely belonged to one of their friends. He halted in his movements, pulling apart, and trying to ignore the pout Botan sent him, as he fixed his gaze on a figure.

"Yusuke," he said tartly, giving the delinquent a flat look as he walked up to them. Botan, on the other hand, was blushing hotly and wishing Yusuke didn't see anything.

Yusuke seemed to notice his irritation, as he broke into an ear to ear grin.

"Sorry, hope I didn't interrupt anything," he sneered, pretending he didn't see anything… despite the fact he saw them kissing just now. For a moment, he pondered if he should tease them about it, but upon peering at the glare Kurama, who was aware that he saw, he decided against it.

Yusuke Urameshi didn't have a death wish.

His toothy grin was instantly replaced by a nervous smile. "So, how are you guys doing?" he asked curiously, changing the subject, hoping the redhead wouldn't kill him in his sleep.

Fortunately for him, Kurama's dark stare brightened, a victorios smirk tugging at his lips. "We're having fun," he replied curtly, voice oddly calm. Yusuke sent him a deadpanned look.

"Where's Keiko?" Botan inquired in wonder, blush now gone from her face. She inwardly sighed in relief as she realized Yusuke hadn't witnessed their… _ahem_ , affectionate display just now.

"Uh… she's over that with Shizuru," came Yusuke's answer, as he tilted his head behind him. Botan peered over his shoulder, and true enough, there was Keiko, talking with Shizuru. "She said you and Kurama move well together," he added teasingly, grinning when a red shade tinted and warmed the girl's cheeks.

"Thanks," Botan muttered under her breath, voice shy and soft.

Kurama couldn't help but smile. She was so cute sometimes.

"Anyways, Kurama…" Yusuke started, breaking him out of his reverie. The redhead in question regarded him with a hum of acknowledgement. Yusuke's grin broadened slightly, revealing his perfect set of teeth.

"I've got a favor to ask you."

Kurama quirked one eyebrow at him in question, but before he could ask Yusuke what he meant, he was pulled by the arm.

* * *

"No, thank you."

Botan politely (but awkwardly) smiled as another boy offered her a dance for the umpteenth time that night. Kurama reluctantly left her a while ago, but didn't forget to tell her to wait for him even as Yusuke had dragged him towards the exit. She'd gone and had conversations with Shizuru and Keiko the moment he was gone, but as the two other girls started to feel the desire to dance, Botan had turned down their invitation. She'd danced all night already. That didn't stop guys from asking her though.

So now she was sauntering towards the balcony with a small drink in her lithe hands. She needed some time to be alone, and felt it was the most suitable place. She hummed a tune as she strolled for her destination, and upon reaching it, she realized no one else was there. Perfect.

Botan brought the cup to her lips, as she stared straight ahead at the beautiful scenery. There was a garden, and although it was a pleasant sight to behold even during the day, its beauty seemed to shine the most under the dark sky and the bright stars. She found it peaceful and refreshing to be up here as she sipped her drink again and again. After some time of watching the pretty background, Botan was about to head back inside but quickly halted in her steps when a voice reached her ears.

"Hello, Botan-chan," Yukina greeted in her gentle voice, as she gave the taller girl a small smile. Botan brightened up upon seeing a familiar face.

"Yuki-chan!" she greeted back in a high-pitch voice, obviously unable to contain her excitement. It showed more in her beautiful wide grin.

'Yuki-chan' was a nickname only she called Yukina. It was a shorter version of her name, and Botan found out years ago Yukina seemed to enjoy the snow a lot. She couldn't blame her, she did too, as Christmas was her favorite holiday.

"Where were you?" she questioned, as the smaller girl stood beside her.

Yukina's smile widened. "I was with my brother."

"Oh." Botan paused. "But, I didn't recall seeing you with Hiei earlier when me and Kurama met him," she said in confusion, remembering the time the short male had approached them with the principal along side him. "Does he like the principal? I mean, not to be rude, but some guys do seem to be fonder of older women—"

Yukina cut off her ramblings, a small giggle escaping her. "No, Botan-chan. He doesn't like older women. It's just that they've grown close over the years, and I too, of course. She's like the mother we never had. But, I think my brother has feelings for someone else." Botan pulled a curious expression, but she merely smiled a cryptic smile. "And I wasn't with him when he met you and Kurama-san."

"Oh," Botan sounded once more. She was silent for a moment, taking in the information.

"Speaking of Kurama-san," Yukina suddenly chimed in, snapping her out of her thoughts and back into reality. Botan regarded her with a surprised look as she realized the smaller girl was sporting a grin on her soft features. "I think he's in love with you."

Blood immediately rushed to Botan's cheeks, turning her red in the face. What? Why would Yukina think that?

"What? No! He _doesn't_ like me, Yuki-chan. Not in that sort of way anyway," she tried to deny, frantically waving her hands in the air. The blush seemed to deepen, and her heart was beating faster. For some reason, Yukina's words seemed to ignite… all these strange feelings inside her.

"But, he does," Yukina said defensively in response. Her smile faltered, and her brows knitted together. "My brother told me that he does."

"No, he doesn't, Yukina," Botan stubbornly replied, this time sounding firmer. Yukina's frown deepened. The nickname had dropped, signalling that Botan had no time for games, and telling her to stop.

"Please, Botan-chan. Trust me, he _does_. He is in love with you! I overheard him talking with my brother at the hallway after he'd taken care of Yusuke's favor. I know it wasn't nice to eavesdrop, but I couldn't help it because the topic of conversation was _you_." Yukina paused, bit her lip, and turned her head downwards, as if ashamed of herself. "That's how I found out how he really feels about you."

"You… overheard them… talking…?" Botan muttered slowly, eyes widening when the smaller girl nodded her head. No. That can't be true. She shook her head in disbelieve. "I… This… can't be happening…" Kurama liked her? More importantly, he **loved** her? No! She couldn't accept that.

"It is happening, Botan-chan." Yukina's head lifted, revealing her crimson orbs that seemed to stare right through her soul. "He does harbor feelings for you. And as difficult as it might sound, it's true." She turned to look at the scenery ahead of them. "I… I didn't think this would be your reaction… I thought I should tell you… because you're my friend and I wish for nothing more than your happiness… but…" she trailed off.

Botan didn't say anything, and her silence unnerved and bothered Yukina. "Botan-san," she called, but the girl was busy staring blankly at nothing in particular. She heaved a deep sigh.

"How do you feel about him?" Yukina asked slowly, voice low and timid as she fingered the railings. She wondered if she should even ask that at all, and instantly regretted her decision when Botan's face crestfallen at her question.

"I… I don't think… Oh, I don't know, Yuki-chan…" she answered after a while. Burying her face in her hands, Botan shook her head, as if to get rid of a headache. "I… I'm not sure _how_ I feel about him. H-he makes me happy… but, love? I…"

"You what?" Yukina prodded her to continue.

"… I don't think I should be in love with him." Botan bit her lip. "I shouldn't be."

As Yukina stared long at her face; the bitter smile, and the sadness and fear reflected in her eyes… She finally understood: Botan was scared. Scared of getting hurt, of getting her heart broken. Yukina hated herself for realizing it too slow, when she should've known from the beginning. She was the one, beside Keiko and Shizuru, whom Botan told of her feelings. Of the guys she dated. Of how many times she'd been disappointed and let down. Cheated. Left behind for someone who was apparently better, but certainly not.

Yukina wanted to search for the people who hurt her friend, who trampled on her feelings like they were nothing but dirt on the ground. And when she did, she wanted to do unspeakable things to them. But that wouldn't do. That wouldn't make anything better.

Yukina's expressions softened: it wasn't that Botan was unsure of her feelings for Kurama, it was because she _didn't want_ to admit it. Or perhaps, her mind was blocking her heart from telling her the truth; 'protecting' her from everything that might hurt her. And one of those things was love. An emotion so simple, joyful, but painful.

"No, Botan-chan," she said quietly, before turning to look at her friend with a small smile attached to her lips. "That's not it."

Botan frowned deeply. "What do you mean?"

Yukina's smile widened. "You _do_ love him."

The blue haired girl almost seemed angry. "No, Yuki-chan, how many times have I told you—"

"You love him," Yukina cut her short, voice firm yet gentle. Her smile wavered, her expression serious, and crimson orbs stern as they stared at the other girl. Botan stepped back as she took a step towards her.

"You love him, but you're just too scared to admit it. Your heart has been broken for too many times, and it's trying to tell you that it yearns for Kurama-san, but logic seems to differ. You don't feel like you can trust your heart, you don't want to get hurt. But, you _do_ , Botan-chan. You love him. And he loves you. I can see it in his eyes, and I can see it in yours." She stopped advancing towards Botan, who was trying to avoid her gaze. "Please, Botan-chan. Stop trying to deny it. You're going to end up hurting yourself and Kurama-san—"

"Stop!" Botan's loud roar silenced her, and the green haired girl's eyes widened in fright and alarm. She was taken aback by her angry exclaimation.

"Botan…?"

"You don't know anything!"

Tears stung at the back of Botan's eyes; she didn't understand, why was she crying? It wasn't supposed to mean anything, but Yukina's words brought up too many painful memories. And they made her realize something she wished she hadn't.

"But, I do! I know you, Botan-chan!" Yukina cried out in desperation, the duo was oblivous to the stares directed their way. "You're my best friend, why are you trying to hide this from me? You can't lie to me. Please, I want you to stop trying to deceive me, stop trying to deceive yourself. I don't want your heart to be broken again. Love can cause heartbreaks, but sometimes denying it can too." Yukina's face crestfallen, her eyes starting to water. "I don't want you to do anything you might regret. I don't know how, but I can sense that Kurama will be able to make you happy. I… I want you to be happy." _Especially after you've been abandoned for so many times_ , she thought sadly.

Upon hearing her friend's words, Botan seemed to calm down, sensing that she was upsetting her. "I just don't want to get hurt again. Heartbreaks aren't the worse, you know?" She bit her lip to stifle a sob that threatened to come out. "It's harder to pick up the pieces when it's all over."

Yukina's eyes softened. "Oh, Botan-chan…" She made to approach her to offer her comfort, only to halt half way in her movements when she saw a familiar redhead walking towards them.

She sighed: why did he have to turn up now? It was hardly the best time. Nonetheless, Yukina strolled closer to Botan, and when she was close enough, tucked a strand of blue hair behind her friend's ear.

"I have to go now, Botan-chan," Yukina said reluctantly, voice soft but hesitant. "Kurama's here…"

"What?" Botan almost jumped. She made to escape, but Yukina stopped her by grabbing her at the arm. She sent the smaller girl a desperate look, eyes pleading for her to let go.

Yukina shook her head. "Running will only make it worse, Botan-chan," she told her, and felt the girl's body stiffened. But she knew that Botan wouldn't bolt for escape again, so she loosened her hold, before letting go completely.

"I'm going now, Botan-chan," Yukina went on, patting the other girl's shoulders.

She spared a brief glance at Kurama who was staring at them in confusion and worry. He seemed to know there was something wrong with her blue haired friend, and could only smile at him in reassurance as she walked past him. Botan just watched her go.

"What's wrong?" Kurama asked in concern, red eyebrows creasing. "Did something happen between you and Yuki—"

He didn't manage to finish when the girl abruptly spoke. "Kurama, I need to ask you something."

His brown deepened, but his gaze trailed downwards. That was when he noticed her hands were gripping into fists, her body shaking, and it took him every ounce of control not to embrace her right then and there. His eyes darted upwards to peer into hers, surprised by the hurt reflected in them. Botan took a deep breath, as if to calm herself down, and after a moment,

"Do you… love me?" she asked in a soft voice, and he tried not to to think too much about the way she flinched when the question left her lips.

A pang of hurt stabbed at his heart: was that what was making her sad? That he—that he harbored feelings of love for her? Was that wrong? Was she _disgusted_?

Kurama took a step back, trying not to let the negative emotions taking residence in his heart to get the better of him.

"So what if I do?" he replied in a hoarse whisper.

He avoided her gaze, staring at the floor beneath their feet. The girl remained quiet, and each moment of her silence caused every ounce of control he had to slip away slowly but gradually.

"Does that bother you?" Kurama asked, voice rising up a notch before he could stop it. Botan winced at his yell, but didn't say anything. Instead, she nodded her head, which served to make Kurama's anger and hurt intensify.

"Why?" he asked again, trying to control the urge to kiss her furiously, to show her just how much he loved her, to see how disgusted she'd be then.

His emerald eyes glared at her, but Botan could see the tears that threatened to burst out. She bit the inside of her cheek, trying to hold back her own tears as she parted her mouth.

"I'm not disgusted, Kurama," she told him, voice cracking. "I just… I… I don't wanna get hurt."

The darkness in Kurama's dark forest green eyes faded away, turning them into a pair of bright emeralds. His eyes widened as a look of realization dawned on his face: so that was why…

He shook his head. Why would she think that? He would _never_ do that to her. Ever!

"Botan, I would never—"

"Stop," Botan cried, the tears finally streaming down her cheeks. She wiped furiously at them. "Just stop." She took a deep breath, before lifting her gaze to stared at him in the eyes. "Everyone says that at the beginning, but in the end they'll get bored of you."

Kurama frowned, but he took a step forward. "Botan, what are you talking about—"

"Did you know?" Botan's voice sounded louder as it reached his ears, and he halted in his tracks. "Did you know that I used to like Yusuke? I—I was deeply in love with him since we were kids. But, he likes Keiko. I tried not to let it get to me much, and reassured myself that it had only been a stupid crush. But I knew better. Over time though, I realized there's no other girl for him but her. And it took me some time and a lot of effort, but I managed to forget about him. They're my friends, and I'm happy to see them together."

Kurama's eyes widened: he didn't know about that. Of course, he suspected it a few times before… but Botan never showed him signs that confirmed his suspiciouns. Besides, she said she got over him.

"Oh, Botan…" He walked towards her, only to stop when Botan tried to put some distance between them, her back against the railing. He panicked.

"What are you doing? Are you crazy? If you take another step back—"

"I'll fall," Botan finished for him. She grabbed the railings in her hands, leaning back. Kurama's face lost all its color, and although touched by his concern, Botan quickly brushed the feeling off. "So if you don't want anything bad to happen to me, I advice _you_ take a step back."

Kurama stared at her incredulously, but he stepped back as he was told to. He didn't want to lose her. Not yet. Not ever.

"Don't be ridiculous, Botan! What are you trying to prove—"

"I dated three guys before," Botan went on with an unreadable expression, voice lacking of any emotion. "All three I used to love very dearly. But, they obviously didn't feel the same way." A cynical smirk tugged at her lips. "One cheated on me from behind my back. The second guy dated me to get closer to one of my friends. And the third one?" Her smirk felled. "He loved me. And I loved him. The only difference was that he got bored of me, and I didn't." She forced out a laugh. "Pretty stupid, huh?"

Kurama's gaze softened. Was that why she was afraid of him? That he would do the same thing like those guys?

"No, Botan. You're not stupid, they are. They're the idiots because they couldn't realize how precious you really are."

The corners of Botan's lips curled upwards into a sad smile. "Those are just words."

"I mean it, Botan," he said sternly, eyes staring straight into hers, searching for her soul. Botan looked away. "And I would never hurt you." He advanced towards her, but the girl didn't even move a muscle. A rush of relief overwhelmed him for a moment. "I would never do what they did to you. Oh darling," One hand was extended to touch her cheek, fingers lightly brushing against the soft skin, "I would never break your heart."

He felt Botan flinch under his touch, and was surprised when she slapped his hand away harshly. A pang of rejection stabbed at his chest, but he tried to ignore it. "Botan…"

"Just forget about me, Kurama," Botan forced out the words, a small yet audible sob leaving her. "I wouldn't be able to take it anymore if _you_ hurt me too."

Kurama's brows knitted together in frustration. "You know me, Botan! I would never—" His hand reached out to touch her, but she pulled away before he could.

"Goodbye, Kurama," came her heartbreaking words.

And with that, she turned and walked away.

Kurama's hand remained in the air, as he stared blankly at her retreating form. Then, when she was fully gone from his sight, it felled limply at his side. He gritted his teeth; tears stung at the back of his eyes, but he refused to cry. Why didn't he chase after her? Why didn't he prove to her how much he really loved her? How much he needed her in his life? He paused—

He couldn't.

* * *

Botan halted in her steps, the bottom of her dress lifting up slightly as she abruptly stopped walking. Turning around, Botan expected to see a handsome redheaded lad behind her—

But there was no one.

Kurama didn't go after her.

The realization struck her in the chest like a knife. And before she realized it, the tears came back, falling down uncontrollably on her cheeks. She didn't know why she was crying, but she knew better:

It was probably because deep down in her heart, she knew Yukina's words had been right.

* * *

 **Phew! :wipe sweat off eyebrow: That was a long chapter! And I'm beat! But, all's well since I finished it anyway! He-he! I know, this was sad, but it isn't the end! Not yet! But, hopefully (and dreadfully too, because I actually enjoy writing this story), the next chapter will be the last. Thank you for reading!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.**

 **Stuck With You**

 **Summary: AU, Kurama Minamino and Botan Fukuyama are sworn enemies. What happens when one day, they are handcuffed together and they don't have the key? Will they be able to put aside their differences and form a friendship… or something more?**

 **Chapter 18**

Kurama would never be willing to admit it, but he felt miserable. Snuggling in the comfort of his baby blue sheets, the redhead felled limply on the bed and stared blankly at the wall.

Botan hadn't came back to his house; well, not like she had anything here that was keeping her. No clothes, no personal belongings. He hadn't seen her for the entire night that night, but their eyes met contact the next morning. She ignored him though, and although he'd tried desperately to talk to her, he ended up doing the same thing.

And now, he was being miserable in his bed, curled up like a little ball or a kid frightened in his bed covers. What the hell was he doing? At least, he was thankful it was the weekend. Still, it irked him everytime to think that he and Botan hadn't spoken for a fortnight.

Kurama let out a loud and exasperated groan, before bringing the sheets to his face, covering his features. _Maybe I'll die because of lack of air_ , he thought with dry humor.

A week ago, Botan had asked to change partners for their science project that _they_ were supposed to work on. Their teacher thought she wanted to be with her best friend, Shizuru, but Kurama personally thought she was trying very effortlessly to avoid him like the plague. Hiei had been his new partner at the time, and although they presented their project very well and earned applause from their fellow classmates and even the teacher, Kurama hadn't had the time to be happy. His mother had even came back from a foreign country, but even that wasn't enough to make him his usual self again.

And now, as days passed, his condition seemed to worsen. Even the adults had begun to ask his friends if there was any problems with him. He didn't bother himself to worry about it. Hiei had come the day before though and told him to, " _Stop fucking sulking and get your ass up from that bed. She's not gonna come back even if you keep doing that, asshole_."

So when he heard the doorbell ring, he buried his face in his pillow, muffling his frustrated groan. He heard distant speaking, followed by the sound of someone's footsteps climbing up the stairs. The door then slammed open, the loud noise causing him to peek from his covers to glower at the rude intruder.

"Yusuke." He regarded the other boy who was glaring back at him with a flat look. "I'd really appreciate it if you don't go slamming the doors in my house like that. It's annoying," he said unceremoniously, ignoring the way Yusuke's jaws dropped at his words. He then proceeded to bury himself impossibly deeper in his pillow.

"Seriously, what the fuck is up with you, Kurama?" Yusuke roared angrily, after a moment of dead silence. When the redhead was unresponsive, his glare intensified. Behind him, a blue headed boy approached him and entered the room.

"What the hell's going on here? Minamino's mother is asking me a lot of questions and I'm pretty sick—"

Shishi's voice trailed off as the sight that greeted him was someone being curled up on the bed. He almost couldn't tell who it was, save from the unruly red hair that peeked out from the sheets and the room he could only assume was Kurama's.

"What the effing loving hell are you—" Yusuke cut him short, extending an arm out to block him when he tried to advance towards the redhead. Shishi's brows formed a deep frown.

Kurama, on the other hand, lifted the covers fully from his body to gaze at Shishi in surprise. What was _he_ doing here?

"Why are you here?" he asked, after some time. His emerald eyes narrowed suspiciously at the blue head.

Shishi merely gave him a deadpanned look, but didn't say anything in response. Kurama parted his mouth to tell him to _get the fuck out of my house if you're not going to answer questions_ , only to cut himself short when Yusuke's voice chimed in.

"I came here because I wanted to talk some sense into that thick head of yours, and this guy just happened to be in the area." Yusuke paused. "I personally think he's here to kick your ass," he added abruply with a nonchalant shrug.

"That's not why I'm here, asshole," Shishi's voice spat at him, which earned the blue haired boy an exasperated stare in return. "I'm here to _talk some sense_ into him as well, for your _in-fucking-formation_." Shishi's cold glare was now directed at Kurama, pink eyes narrowing dangerously at the redhead. "But, I _will_ freaking beat you up if you don't listen to me."

Kurama snorted. "As if you could actually land a finger on me."

Shishi looked as if he wanted to set him on fire. "Fucking watch me, Minamino," he growled ferally. Kurama just stared at him with an unreadable expression.

"What did you want to say to me?" the redhead said impatiently. "Quickly. So you can get out of my face and out of my house sooner."

Shishi gawked at him. Why, the nerve of… He made to step forward again to give him a piece of his mind, but was stopped abruptly by Yusuke who grabbed at his arm. He glared daggers at the delinquent, but the look disappeared as the other male shook his head. _No. Don't do it. We came here to talk. Not fight._

He understood the message, and snorting, he tugged his hand out of Yusuke's grasp. Yusuke didn't mind, he knew the guy wouldn't do anything unless needed.

He turned to look at Kurama who was busy staring at the floor, as if it was more interesting than them. Heaving a sigh, Yusuke tried to choose his words carefully as he spoke.

"Look, Kurama… I-I know things have been rough on you these days… but god, you have got to pull yourself together. Botan _needs_ you, man," The last sentence sounded frustrated yet desperate as they left his lips.

"Oh really?" Kurama sarcastically replied, face sporting an equally sarcastic expression. "Yeah, she certainly showed me how much she 'needed' me by avoiding me, if that's what you mean," he scoffed, ignoring the pang of hurt that stabbed at his chest as the words left him.

Yusuke's brows knitted together. He wasn't the most patient man on earth, and now the redhead was trying to push his buttons. He swore, if he hadn't been his friend…

He took a few deep, calming breaths to calm himself down, but failed miserably as his radiant brown eyes quickly fixed a glare on Kurama's face, the redhead staring back in an uninterested manner.

"Listen here, and listen good, Kurama. Botan needs you—" He held up a hand when the redhead tried to speak, ordering him to be silent. Kurama's mouth closed. "—but she doesn't know it yet. Maybe, just _maybe_ , she does, but she's too scared of getting hurt." A sad smile unexpectedly crossed Yusuke's face, surprising the redhead when he saw it. "She's been heartbroken for too many times, and I guess she thinks she can't handle another one—"

"I already know that," Kurama cut him off, voice low but oddly gentle. "I already told her that I wouldn't ever think of breaking her heart, but she… she didn't believe me. She—"

"Fuck, Kurama. That's fucking normal. The girl's been lied to and cheated almost her entire life! How many times has she trusted someone, only to be let down? How many nights she spent crying? Do you even know that?" Yusuke yelled at the top of his lungs, anger over taking his senses. "For god's sake, Kurama… That didn't mean you had to give up on her."

"So what?" the redhead growled, low and dangerous as he stood up the bed, eyes glaring daggers at his friend. "Are you implying that this is _my_ fault?"

"Yes!" Yusuke's answer came almost immediate, further igniting the raging fire inside him. The delinquent paused. "Okay, not all of it, but certainly part of it _is_ your fault."

Kurama made to protest, but Shishi beat him to it. "Will you stop acting like a jerk and just… go to Botan?" He could tell it verbally and emotionally hurt Shishi to say the last three words, and was stunned to hear him say it anyway. "You're going to hurt her."

"Her?" Kurama's anger seemed to died down, but was replaced with exasperation. "What about me? I'm not hurting?"

"Yes, you are," Shishi said, eyes softening in a way Kurama never thought they could. "But you can stop that any minute… if you just… go to her."

Kurama shook his head stubbornly. "No. I can't. I can't ever see her face to face again. This… is probably for the best—"

"For the best, my ass!" Shishi growled, causing the redhead to fall silent. It wasn't the loud roar that made Kurama shut up, but it was the intensity in his pink orbs. Something in them seemed to stop him from saying more.

"Listen here, Minamino," the blue haired boy spoke again after a while, his voice calm and even, but anyone could sense the underlying fury in the tone he used. "Do you know how hard it was for me to give her the fuck up just for your sorry ass? Everytime I think about it, something just rips at my heart, but I thought, 'hey, it's okay,' because what? Because you need her, you douchebag. And she needs you. She loves you. Hell, I even took the time to come up here to talk some fucking sense into your useless mind, so you could… Ugh." Shishi shook his head, raking a trembling hand through his blue strands. Kurama was speechless, and Yusuke looked sympathetic. "So please, Minamino," he choked out, "Please… don't give her up. I want to see her happy. Even if that means it's with you… Please."

Silence hung in the air after Shishi spoke, his words strucking something… at Kurama's heart. "Why do all that…" he asked in a soft voice, despite already knowing the answer.

"Because she's worth it."

Shishi didn't hesitate even for a moment to answer, and that was when Kurama realized: he was right.

* * *

"You guys! Wait for me," Botan called out, as she tried to chase after the three girls, one hand holding one shopping bag and the other holding a cold drink.

"Hurry up, slow poke!" Keiko joked as she looked over her shoulder to the girl, bursting into a fit of laughter.

"Yeah! If you don't hurry up, our seats are gonna get taken by someone else. And we wouldn't want that, now would we?" Shizuru added teasingly, wriggling her brown eyebrows at the poor girl.

"Shizuru's right, Botan-chan. Wouldn't wanna sit by the trash can, now would we?" Yukina said, a small smile playing at her lips as her crimson orbs danced in mischief. She rotated her head to look at the two other girls who nodded their heads in agreement.

"Oh, come on, Yuki-chan! Not you too!" Botan whined, the three girls laughing together at her cry. The girl blushed beet red in embarrassment at being poked fun at, and was about to go up and say something when her phone suddenly rang.

The fit of feminine laughter subsided, fading into thin air as three pair of eyes watched her retrieve her cell phone, and with one hand, flip the piece of machinery open.

Shishi's number glared at her in bright white numbers on the glass screen, causing a deep frown to appear on her face. What did he want from her? Turning to her friends, Botan told them to go ahead, and save a seat for her. The three gave her questioning looks, but nodded their heads anyway, strolling off to leave the girl alone. She watched them go for a moment, before finally accepting the call, placing the phone by her ear.

"Yes, Botan speaking."

" _Hey._ " Shishi's voice sounded from the other line. " _What are you doing?_ "

"Erm, shopping," Botan answered slowly, putting the shopping bag beside her as she found a place to sit on. Her mouth wrapped around her straw, as she sipped on her drink. "Why?"

There was a pause, before... " _Just asking._ "

"Hmm…" she sounded off thoughtfully. "Really?" She expelled a heavy sigh. "Because if you're planning to ask me out, the answer is no," she said playfully.

" _Ouch._ " Shishi teased, and the girl rolled her eyes. " _ **That**_ _hurt._ " Botan laughed at that, Shishi joining her.

His way of speaking to her had changed after that night; Botan didn't quite understand, but she was just relieved that he was no longer showering her with praises, sweet words, and romantic promises. She suspected he was trying to forget her though, in his own way. That was good. He deserved someone who really loved him.

" _Anyway, I'm wondering if you're busy right now…_ " Shishi started all of a sudden. Botan felled silent at his words, her laughter fading into thin air and he caught on to what she was thinking instantly. " _No, it's not for a date, I assure you…_ " he quickly added, to which Botan inwardly heaved a sigh of relief. " _It's just that I have something to talk to you._ "

Botan quirked an eyebrow at this. "What about?"

There was a pause once more, but this time it lingered longer than it did before. She heard some shuffling from the other line, followed by the sound of an awkward cough… She frowned.

" _It's about… um, don't get mad at me, okay?_ "

The crease on Botan's forehead deepened. "What? No! Why would I get mad?" she asked incredulously.

" _Well, it's about Kurama—_ "

"I'm hanging up," Botan cut him off unceremoniously, and was about to literally stop the call, if it hadn't been for Shishi's urgent voice.

" _No! Don't hang up! Jesus Christ, Botan… you're nuts… What the hell did I see in you? Ugh… Anyway… you still there?_ "

Botan pondered for a moment if she should remain quiet in an attempt to make him think that she did hang up on him. Still, she decided against it.

"Yes," her words passed her lips in a whisper as they escaped her.

" _Good._ " She heard Shishi sigh in relief, and grumbled something under his breath. " _Look. I know you're avoiding him and you're freaked out by the fact that he's in love with you. But… listen, he loves you a lot. He needs you. The bastard may not know how much he does need you, but I sure as hell do._ " Shishi growled. " _But, I'm a guy too, Botan. And I can see that he's not like those other douchebags who hurt you before. He would never do that… God, I can't believe I just said that… But anyway, back to the main topic, he's not that kind of guy. He's not a boy. He's a man. He knows how not to break a heart, Botan. He… can take care of you._ "

Botan bit her lip, barely aware of the tears that streamed down her face until a sob left her. She swiftly wiped the liquid away when she noticed the passer-bys giving her weird looks.

"But, how do I know if he won't leave me?" she asked between sobs and could hear Shishi curse savagely the moment she spoke.

" _Shit, Botan. Are you crying? Fuck, I'm sorry. Ugh… Look, don't cry. Kurama would kill me if he finds out that I made you cry. So, stop that annoying sobbing this instant_ ," Shishi told her, voice firm yet gentle. Botan involuntarily let out a hiccup, before nodding her head. She then realized a moment later that Shishi couldn't see her, so she said,

"Okay."

" _Okay, good._ " Shishi seemed to pause again, as if waiting for her to stop crying. There was a few sobs here and there before she finally felled silent. That was when he went on. " _Botan, that's the thing. He won't leave you. Fuck, how many times have you seen him in love? One, right? And that's with you. And how many girls have he dated? None. Because he wants you and only you. And I know this might be hard to believe, but he won't – ever – leave you. Even if a bitch who's better looking and smarter than you comes into the picture, he would never abandon you. And I'm not saying this because I know him by heart, but because he's just like me, Botan. Looking at him is like looking at myself. He's not a boy who is unable to differ between rights and wrongs, he's a man – a man who knows how to love a woman properly. And he loves_ **you**."

" _And although he is a fucking moron for giving up on you in the beginning, I know if you just give him a chance, he would never leave. So Botan, will you just cut the guy some slack? I already feel sorry for him as it is, and you're making me feel sorrier. Give him a break. Let him love you. And trust me, you'd be surprise by how much he's willing to do for you._ "

Botan was unresponsive, and her silence unnerved and bothered Shishi. But, he waited until she said something, and when she did, he was surprised by her words.

"Thank you, Shishi."

* * *

Kurama stared at the ground, hands sliding into the warmth of his pockets. It was unusually colder that night, and he had to wonder if it was about to snow. Not likely. As this wasn't Christmas, not yet anyway. It was still a great thing that he persuaded himself to finally go outside though, as he needed some air to clear his thoughts.

He heaved a sigh, averting his eyes upwards to the sky, gazing at the beautiful sight that greeted him. It reminded him of the night he and Botan watched the night sky together, and he smiled, before lowering his gaze. As he did so, his eyes immediately found a familiar object, one he hadn't seen for a long time: metallic handcuffs. Although they weren't really real (it was one you could wear and take off with your hands, without a key), Kurama's breath still hitched in his throat. _Botan._ Why did everything he think would always end up with her? _Of course_. Another smile tugged at his lips as he thought, _Because I love her._

Emerald orbs stared intently at the handcuffs, before darting upwards to the owner: a little boy with brown hair and blue eyes stared back, confused. It took him a moment before the realization finally dawned on him that the little boy had been studying him the whole time. Kurama watched with an awkward grin as his mother pulled the child with him, dragging him away and whispering urgently to him that he should stay away from "weird strangers". The smile on his lips faltered; _great, now she thinks I have a handcuffs fetish_. Not that it mattered though, they weren't going to meet again anyway.

He looked up when he heard the sound of a bell chiming, surprised to see who it was that entered the book shop in front of him. There she was, silky sky blue hair and radiant amethyst eyes.

It was Botan.

Kurama gulped down a lump in his throat, hesitating only a moment before strolling inside the shop. He greeted the clerk, Akahiro-san, with a lazy smile. The old man must be thinking that he was there to purchase a book again. Although he hadn't been doing that a lot lately since the handcuffs ordeal… and afterwards as well. After answering a few questions from Akahiro-san as to about why he hadn't seen him recently, Kurama turned his head to look around the shop until his gaze fixed on the person he was searching for. He then proceeded to saunter his way towards her.

Botan bit her lip as she stared back and forth between the books in the store. Her eyes refused to catch anything that would interest her, and she was finding it irritable that the lady beside her was talking endlessly to her friend. Expelling a deep sigh, Botan pondered for a moment if she should just leave.

"Try reading the Great Gatsby," a voice spoke behind her, causing her to jump nearly two metres from the ground.

She lifted her head to peer at the owner, eyes widening into saucers as what greeted her sight was Kurama. His emerald eyes studied her, expression unreadable, but a small smile played at the edge of his lips. She couldn't help but return the smile with her own, a pink tint beginning to color her cheeks as she avoided his scrutinizing gaze. Her face suddenly felt warm, and it didn't help that he always knew how to make her nervous.

"I've already read it," she answered, softly than she had hoped. She wished she had sounded casual.

Kurama's smile visibly broadened. "Then, perhaps…" He reached for a book, Botan eyeing his movements from the corner of her eyes. "This."

She stared at his face for a few moment, blinking her eyes, before fixing them on the book he handed to her. Tentatively, Botan extended one slender hand to grab it, studying the title written on the cover. "Whitney, My Love," it said.

"A love story?" she inquired with a humorous tone in her voice. For a moment, she was amused at the notion of him reading a romance novel that she'd forgotten she was supposed to be nervous. Still, as she peered upwards at his handsome features, the timidness somehow returned, tinting her cheeks a bright crimson.

"Yes." Kurama's voice was low, almost inaudible but it made her heart beat faster. She willed it to slow down, but matters of the heart was never that easy to handle.

She nodded her head, turning her head downwards. Fidgeting a little, Botan cleared her throat gently, the blush on her face reddening slightly.

"Thank you," she managed to mutter, and mustered a small smile his way. The thumping of her heart grew louder and faster as he smiled back lovingly, touching his eyes with warmth.

Botan paid for the book, and Kurama, after excusing himself to Akahiro-san, followed after her as she exited. The lithe girl made no move to refuse or tell him to go home: she wanted him to 'chase' her this time. So that they could somehow talk and figure out a way to deal with their feelings, which they so obviously shared. As the duo reached a quiet and deserted alleyway, what started out as a plan to discuss turned into something else.

Botan hadn't even managed to get one word out of her mouth, when Kurama grabbed her by the forearms, and in one swift motion, slammed her to the wall. Fingers curling in her soft, beautiful azure strands and lips bruisingly devouring her pink mouth… She tried to open her mouth to order him to stop, but the action merely allowed him to dive his tongue into her wet cavern. Her moan was muffled in the kiss as the wet appendage stroked hers, body relaxing as she finally gave in, kissing back with equal fervor. She didn't realize how much she actually missed this.

When Kurama finally broke apart, Botan felt a wave of disappointment that over took her senses. Still, she knew breathing was a necessity, and therefore, he had to let go sooner or later. She gazed at him questioningly and amethyst locked with emerald for a long time, before Kurama finally spoke.

"Sorry. I couldn't help myself," was all he said.

He offered her a toothy grin, attempting to hold back as he stared at her pretty face: cheeks tinted pink, mouth swollen and bruised… He found it difficult to resist her when she was looking so adorable. Loosening his hold, Kurama released the vice like grip he had around her, only to place his hands at either side of her head, studying her.

"You didn't call," he continued when the girl was unresponsive, eyes turned downwards at the ground beneath their feat.

His words caused her to look up. "You didn't either," she scoffed, rolling her eyes at him.

"That's because I didn't have the time to," Kurama lied.

"No," Botan said sternly, having caught on to his bluff. She narrowed her eyes at him, although not in a dangerous way. "That's because you were being a jerk."

Kurama's mouth formed a sincere and apologetic smile. "Touche…" The smile wavered, replaced with a very serious expression. "I'm sorry, love, I was an idiot. I shouldn't have given up on you. I should've gone after you, and I should've convinced you that I love you." A wolfish grin stretched on his features, touching his eyes with a tint of mirth. "But now that I already know what I should've done, I'm going to pursue you for the rest of my life. Even if you push me away and tell me to stop, I won't. I won't ever stop loving you, wanting you and needing you in my life." The redhead leaned in closer to allow the slightest brush of his lips against the skin of her forehead, pecking the spot softly and lovingly. She didn't pull away, and he was more than relieved. "Never… because my heart belongs to you and only you…" he whispered, one hand reaching to hold hers, squeezing gently.

Botan wanted to cry as she listened to him, his words causing the feelings she so deeply harbored for him to surface more. Feelings she'd forgotten over time, only to be ignited again by the only person she'd claimed to hate. They weren't what she wanted to hear, but they were true anyway. He didn't have the right to apologize, but still, a part of her did wish he'd done all those things that night. Then maybe they wouldn't have to drift apart for so long.

"No, _I'm_ the one who should be sorry," she sobbed, a tear finally trailing down her cheeks. She reached to wipe it away, but Kurama beat her to it, tender fingers brushing against her warm skin. "I-I was scared… Of love… Of getting hurt… Of you… B-but, I was so stupid." Her hands flew to her face as more tears felled down like waterfall, trying vainly to wipe them all away. "I-I… I don't want us to be just friends, Kurama…"

Kurama smiled, and kissing her tears, the liquid leaving a salty taste on his tongue, he finally said;

"I love you. Now, and forever." His words were tinted with so much warmth, affection and care that Botan couldn't help but cry again. Kurama laughed and watched as one of her arms reached for her face, rubbing harshly to wipe the tears away, as if she could erase them in a way only an eraser could.

"Be my girlfriend, Botan Fukuyama?" Kurama asked as she was finished crying. Botan lifted her puffy eyes to peer at him, a small smile curving at the corners of her lips.

"Yes."

At her answer, joy reflected in his eyes, and the redhead couldn't resist the urge to grin happily, revealing his pearl white teeth. "Good." He chuckled, he could hardly believe it. She… she actually… His musings came to a sudden halt as a thought abruptly occurred to him.

"Would you say it though?" he mysteriously inquired, causing the girl to frown in bewilderment. His grin merely widened in response. "That you love me."

Botan blushed beet red in embarrassment. "A-actions always speak louder than words!" she stammered, trying to sound indignant, only to come out as timid instead. It wasn't as if she didn't want to say it, she knew, Kurama knew, but she hadn't said them for a long time. And naturally, it was harder to say them now. Still, he wanted to hear them. Needed to.

When she remained silent, Kurama made to move to another plan. _Plan B_. He smirked inwardly, but outwardly, tilted his head innoncently at her. "Then I guess I should take back what I said earlier. I don't want a girlfriend who can't even express her feelings for me when I want her to." Botan gawked at him in shock and utter disbelieve, but he ignored her, proceeding to walk away. "I suppose I should find someone else," he said, louder than needed.

In a matter of seconds, Kurama's tracks were unceremoniously but successfully halted, as a metal thing encircled around his wrist, stopping him from moving any further. A victorious grin slowly formed at his lips. Whipping his head around, Kurama couldn't help but stare at the handcuffs connecting them together, amused. Botan had cuffed herself as well, though he suspected her actions had been purely spontaneous.

He lifted his gaze to peer at her face, the grin adorning his features broadening ever so slightly. "You kept them."

She ignored him. "Dammit, you—you—God, Kurama! I can't believe you!" Botan cried out in exasperation at him and at herself, when she realized she had unintentionally cuffed herself with him. "Gah!" she sounded off in frustration, resisting the urge to pull her hair out its roots. After a moment, "Ugh… Okay, fine! I'll say it! I love you, happy now?" she went on, face red in a mixture of anger and embarrassment. _Goddamn him…_

Kurama managed to pull a wide, ear-to-ear grin, which served to annoy her even more.

"Yes."

She glared at him.

"I hate you."

The grin widened.

"Yeah, but that's only 'cause you're madly and deeply head over heels for me."

Botan scoffed.

He was lucky she was in love with him, she thought, as Kurama bent down to give her another breathtaking kiss.


End file.
